It’s business as usual for the Grand Valley Mustangs in that they opened a high school football season with a victory.
What was different about the Mustangs’ 14-6 triumph at Conneaut on Friday night, though, was the fact it came under first-year head coach John Glavickas, who had a bunch of new leading men playing major roles.
As they head to Fairport this week for Game 2, Glavickas, formerly the offensive coordinator for Tom Henson, appreciates what his guys accomplished in their opener.
“It is a great thing to get a win the first night out. It erases many of the doubts the kids have about having to play different roles,” he said. “It also helps you believe in what you are doing, both the players and the coaches. I think we all felt that weight on our backs to try to go out and get that first one.
“It takes some of the pressure off, but there is still a lot of work for us to do in getting ready for Fairport.”
The Skippers, who defeated a suspension-depleted Mustang squad, 37-20, at Grand Valley Stadium a year ago (only the fifth win against GV in 27 all-time matchups), rolled in their opener at Mineral Ridge, blasting the Rams, 49-28.
Second-year head coach Brandon Lauer’s team has aspirations of reaching the Division VI, Region 21 playoffs this fall with 17 positions being filled by a returning starter from last year’s squad that went 5-5.
Second-year quarterback Nic Paolo runs Fairport’s spread and pro-I offense.
“They have a bunch of guys who can get the job done,” Glavickas said. “(Paolo) has nice size and is athletic. They have a wideout that is a very good athlete and they also have a running back from last year’s team that we have to be aware about.
“What concerns me is their ability to just go out and make plays. The also have the ability to get points off your mistakes.”
In the victory at Conneaut, while they were outgained in terms of total yardage by the Spartans, Grand Valley trumped that by wining the turnover and field-position battles, senior punter Stanley Sirrine leading the way in the latter.
“We were just discussing that with the boys today,” Glavickas said. “The first half was definitely more of a field-position battle going on. Thankfully, Stanley was on with his punts. The kids upfront gave him the time and Stanley had some nice punts.
“I think Stanley was taking some frustration out on the football.”
Sirrine, who had spent most of the past two seasons in a supporting role of many of Grand Valley’s now-graduated standouts, stepped up in a huge way on offense, too.
He scored on a 2-yard dive in the second quarter to tie the game at 6-6 and then in the fourth quarter, he made the play that decided the game, catching a 15-yard scoring strike from quarterback Jake Vormelker.
“Actually, Jake’s touchdown pass to Stanley was supposed to be a quick hitter, but Jake was flushed from the pocket and Stanley turned it into a corner route away from his defender,” Glavickas explained. “It was a great adjustment from Stanley and great play from Jake keeping the play alive.”
Glavickas admitted seeing a senior such as Sirrine shine in the spotlight was important to him.
“It was very special watching Stanley score those touchdowns,” he said. “Stanley works hard every day. He studies film as well. The past couple of years he wasn’t able to play the role he wanted to because there were a lot of playmakers.
“This year, his role has changed and he is up for the challenge. He showed his experience on that play.”
Last week, the Mustangs used both Vormelker and Kyle Orgovan at quarterback. Glavickas said that was — and is — the plan.
“We did go into the game knowing we were going to use both of the boys,” he said. “We just didn’t know when. They both do a great job, but in different ways. They are both capable of running the offense.
“I also think that many teams would be happy to have either one of our quarterbacks.”
Glavickas has a pretty good idea what his squad will need to do to leave Fairport at 2-0 on Friday night.
“We first have to be able to establish a run game. Last week, we were not as successful as we would want ourselves to be,” he said. “Our offensive line needs to start playing better together. The second thing we need to do is not give them any freebies. We have to make sure we take care of the football and not allow them to get points off of turnovers.
“The last thing we need to do is to play assignment football on defense. We need to just take care of our own business and keep trusting our teammates will do their jobs.”
What the Mustangs must do, though, is turn the page from their opening-night win and focus on the present, of which Glavickas is more than aware.
“We have been preaching to our boys that every game is an important one,” he said. “This game is very important to us, but it is our goal to get the job done each week.
“We just focus on the opponent of that week one week at a time.”
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