Grimm runs rampant as OJR defeats Wissahickon thanks to a strong second half

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Zak Wolf | September 4, 2021

Avrey Grimm continued his blazing hot start to the season on Friday night against Wissahickon, leading Owen J Roberts to a 34-24 win. After gaining all first league honors in the Pioneer Athletic Conference last year, Grimm has picked up where he left off. The senior was a work horse all night for the Wildcats, finishing the game with 163 yards on the ground on 19 attempts and three touchdowns. In the first game against Conestoga, Grimm carried the ball 21 yards for 242 and two touchdowns, but in a losing effort 17-14. This time around the Wildcats were able to pull out the victory to get their first win of the year.

After going 3-3 in a weird COVID year, last season Coach Rich Kolka wasn’t sure what kind of team he had. He wasn’t sure how physical they could play, and he didn’t know if they could be consistent enough. What he did know was that he has a lot of senior leadership and a team that has guts. One player stood out, by showing guts against Wiss, laying everything out on the field. That was Avrey Grimm.

Down 12-0 in the middle of the second quarter, up until that point OJR had struggled to get anything going on offense. Grimm quickly changed that. On the first play of the drive, the senior back bounced the ball to the outside and was able to take it 63 yards to the end zone for the touchdown to get OJR on the board. Grimm’s big play ability is something that his team relies heavily on, “He has the potential to break any run at any time, so he’s going to get the majority of the touches.” Explained OJR coach Rich Kolka.

After Wissahickon answered back with a touchdown of their own to go back up double digits, it was time for Grimm to step up again. After multiple 20 plus yard carries, Grimm set his team up in the red zone, where he was able to punch the ball in from 2 yards out on fourth and goal to give the Wildcats some momentum heading into halftime.

The third quarter was a stalemate, with nobody being able to put points on the board, but there was one key moment that changed the whole outlook of the game. Wissahickon Quarterback Aidan Defeo had been having success all game throwing the ball, but he was showing off his legs as well. Defeo was keeping the ball on read options, which he scored on in the first half to open up the scoring. Defeo was also scrambling out of the pocket and creating for himself, but unfortunately, he cramped up after one of his runs in the third quarter with the Trojans up 18-13. With the Trojans driving, Defeo had to come out of the game and the drive eventually stalled.

OJR smelled blood. After Defeo got injured, they drove down the field to start the fourth quarter and it was time for Grimm to shine once again. He took the ball 5 yards for his third touchdown of the game and to give OJR their first lead of the game. Grimm credits his O line for his success on the night, “I’m going to be honest; it all starts with our o linemen. We got a strong line, they’re good at what they do. Coach Freddy is always working with them, always making sure they’re fixing their mistakes, and then they just execute. I have a strong connection with them. I love them so much.”

Avery Grimm gives OJR their first lead of the game on a 5 yard td run. 21-18 with 9:41 left in the game @PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/5onMRCQDOk

— Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22) September 4, 2021

Grimm wasn’t the only running back who had success on the night. Wissahickon running back Kyle Lehman scored three touchdowns as well after having a tough go at it in the Trojans first game against Upper Dublin. Lehman finished the game with nearly 200 yards from scrimmage, 167 of those came on the ground on 16 rushes, including a 67-yard scamper and 33-yard run in the first half. Like Grimm, Lehman is electric in the open field and once he gets to the second level, he’s tough to stop.

Despite Lehman’s big night, the Trojans couldn’t get much going after Defoe’s injury. The senior Quarterback tried his best to come back into the game and try to play through the pain, but it was clear he wasn’t one hundred percent. The OJR defense was able to shut the Trojans out for most of the half, with Defeo throwing an interception on his first play back, which OJR turned into seven points and then on the next drive Defeo threw a pick 6 to Ned Burgess for the 25^thunanswered point for the Wildcats which all but sealed the game for them.

“I don’t think we did a whole lot of different stuff, except for challenge them man to man and then they kind of responded.” Said coach Kolka

Kolka and the rest of his coaching staff know the team still has a lot of work to do if they want to have a successful season but picking up the first win is always important. “You need a win to get some momentum, so hopefully we can take it to the next week and keep it rolling”

OJR will look to keep their momentum going next week when they take on Avon Grove at home, while Wissahickon will try and get their first win of the season when they take on Methacton in their home opener.

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