Grace Community posts 5-0 record in non-district competition

Published 12:43 pm Thursday, September 29, 2022

It was a tumultuous 2021 for the Grace Community football team.

On April 21, 2021, the Cougars welcomed in Ben McEnroe — an experienced coach with a collegiate background — as their new head football coach, replacing Norm Thompson who was the Cougars’ head football coach from 2017-20, replacing Mike Maddox, who left to go be the athletic director at Lindale ISD.

McEnroe never coached a game for Grace. Just a few months after that hire, Grace had to bring Steve Parsons out of retirement to be the program’s interim head coach.

The Cougars made the playoffs but finished with a 2-9 record. They scored 150 points during the season, an average of 13.6 points per game, while allowing 35.8 points per game.

“Last year was hard,” senior offensive lineman Caleb Wilson said. “We were 1-5 at the start of last year, so it’s tough to keep going after you start that bad. Last year, we heard the news of the coach leaving, so it was a bit rough from the beginning.”

In the offseason, Grace knew it was going to have fill its coaching vacancy once again. The Cougars found a coach who had 116 wins in stops at Pine Tree and Harmony as Tim Russell, who retired in December 2021 after a 12-year stint at Harmony — 15 years total, was hired to take over the Grace program on Jan. 13.

“When I came on in January and we started the offseason, we started thinking about ways to get the team to bond together and so forth all throughout the summer and then on through two-a-days,” Russell said. “We knew we had a chance to be good when I saw the guys really pulling for each other.”

The first game came and the Cougars took a 39-7 win over Winona. It eclipsed any point total for the team from the previous season when they had just four games scoring in double figures.

Then came a 49-14 win over Wills Point. The Cougars then avenged a 44-7 loss to its rival Brook Hill a season ago with a 31-20 victory over the Guard.

Wins over Lone Oak (56-21) and Spring Hill (40-21) followed, and Grace sits at 5-0 on its bye week before TAPPS Division II District 2 play begins next week.

“I think we continue to take it one day at a time,” Russell said. “The guys have a great bond with one another, and it’s really been a special thing to see them coming together. They had such a rough year last year and not knowing what to expect with several knew coaches on staff. We didn’t know what to expect. But we’ve truly taken things one day at a time, and before we know it, here we are, sitting at 5-0 right now and enjoying the off week.”

This year’s start has sparked a new enthusiasm around the program.

“It’s been really good, a lot better for us,” Wilson said. “We’ve all just bonded together and worked hard in the offseason with Coach Russell’s program. We really wanted to come out here and win.”

Grace has an offense averaging 43 points per game during the 5-0 start. Sophomore quarterback JT Williams is 42 of 68 for 739 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, and he has 44 carries for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Jamarion Johnson has carried the ball 76 times for 529 yards and eight touchdowns, and he has four grabs for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Reed Alexander has 21 receptions for 352 yards and six touchdowns, and he has 13 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Grant Turner has 10 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns and 20 carries for 150 yards.

“Jamarion worked out a lot over the summer and he has been running really good,” Williams said. “And I’ve been connecting with Reed and the other receivers really well. And the offensive line has done a great job.”

But what the offensive players really wanted to talk about was the defense.

“Our defense has really stepped up,” Williams said. “Coach (Chris) Jones has done a great job, and the defense has been doing great.”

“I think the defense has played really good,” Wilson said. “I think they’re probably the best part about this team. They’re doing a great job of keeping us in the games, helping minimize the other offense and keeping the other defense on the field with us on offense.”

“We’ve played really well defensively,” Russell said. “We’ve played with a lot of aggression. We’ve done a lot of really good things defensively. The guys love to play defense. And the offense has been playing well too and so has special teams. We’ve done a good job in all three phases.”

The defense is holding opponents to 16.6 points per game.

Back at Grace to coordinate the offense is the aforementioned Maddox, a former Grace head coach who recently retired from his post as athletic director at Lindale.

“Coach Maddox and I have been friends for over 25 years,” Russell said. “This is something we’ve talked about and dreamed about and now we’re able to do it. Him on the offensive side and Coach Jones on the defensive side have done a great job. It’s been fun each and every Friday night to be able to stand beside them and enjoy the football games.”

“I saw (Coach Maddox) as a younger kid coaching on the sidelines, so it’s cool to be coached by him,” Wilson said.

The Cougars will return to the field Oct. 7 at Grapevine Faith Christian, which is 2-3 and opened the season with a 61-21 win over Brook Hill.