The defending District 2 AA champion Grenadiers return eight on offensive and six on defensive from last season. The loss of Kurtis Thomas (1,359 rush yds, 19 TD) and sack artist Dane Dudick (103 tackles, 15 sacks) smarts a bit, but the cupboard is not bare.
Dual-threat field general Darrell Crawford (1,370 yds, 14 TD; 43-of-110, 675 yds, 6 TD) will be back at the helm of GAR’s offense and will be joined in the backfield by Dwayne Wright (41 rush, 282 yds, 5 TD) and Mykel Dempsey (45, 232). Wide receivers Shaliek Powell (20 rec., 318 yds, 4 TD) and Lucas Benton (13, 288, 1) are both back as well. They rushed as a team for 3,467 yards, 42 rushing touchdowns, 675 passing yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, Wright, Crawford (52 tackles, 2 int.), Powell (54 tackles, 5 int), Joe Olejar, Shakir Soto (99 tackles, 8 sacks), and Andres Jones all return for the Grenadiers. On defense they had 29 team sacks, 14-team interception, 14 caused fumbles and 16 fumble recoveries. Will all of that returning talent be enough to offset the losses of Thomas and Dudick? We will find out this season!
Returning starters on offense: 8
Returning starters on defense: 6
