To say that Cy Falls quarterback Kolby Gray is a versatile athlete would be quite an understatement after the Saturday night game against Jersey Village at Pridgeon Stadium. Gray was involved in nearly every aspect of the game as the Golden Eagles won their first game by the score of 26-15.
“Kolby (Gray) is a tremendous athlete and is without a doubt a vicious competitor,” Cy Falls coach David Raffield said. “He just wants the football in his hands and is willing to do whatever he has to do to help this team win.”
And that statement proved to be the bottom line as Gray lined up at quarterback, wide receiver, punter, kicker, and even lined up on kickoff return. He finished the night with 229 total yards and three touchdowns.
Early on it was the ground game that proved to work best for the Golden Eagles. Cy Falls running back Christian Norris scored the game’s first touchdown from two yards out. Norris finished the game with 40 yards on eight carries.
Then late in the second, Gray found a crease and scored on a 49-yard touchdown run. He led all rusher with 114 yards and two touchdowns. The Golden Eagles went in at halftime with a 13-0 advantage, but after half the Falcons decided it was time to get on the board.
Falcon quarterback Adam Llamas capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Cheldon Pollard. Llamas threw for 82 yards on the night while Pollard finished with three catches for 56 yards.
On the Eagles end, Gray’s primary target was Jarret Stricklen who had three catches for 33 yards. But the team’s leading receiver for 2008, Zac Gilmore, caught a 25-yard touchdown pass and two catches for 40 yards. Gilmore scored the Eagles’ last touchdown.
With less than two minutes to go, the Falcons put together a scoring drive that ended with a Robert Huff-to-Tyree Chism connection from 45 yards out.
As for the Eagles and their first victory, Raffield said that a win is a win. But, he also stated that they would have to get better in order to have success in the competitive 15-5A district.
“Anytime you get win you have to be happy, but we want to be able to go back and get better after watching this,” Raffield said. “In our district, you have to be able to play every week and play four quarters. There’s no doubt, you can’t make the mistakes we made tonight and have the success we want to have in district and get into the playoffs. We have to stay healthy and focused. That is not easy things for high school kids playing at this level, but we’ll be up for the challenge.”