Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
Four games into the 2011 high school football season, it’s clear that Swan Valley senior running back Johnathon Grace is a force to be reckoned with. Grace has already run for 756 yards and punched in nine touchdowns.
“I think our offensive line has a lot to do with it,” head coach Ken Bourbina said. “They are doing a pretty good job creating holes, and he has the ability to make big plays with a good second effort. He’s hard to bring down with one hit. He’s pretty strong, and he carries people to get yardage.”
Grace ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in a week one win over St. Charles, and his production hasn’t slowed down since. Week two saw him run for 152 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-28 loss to Hemlock, in week three he ran 36 times for 296 yards and three touchdowns, including one in overtime in a 48-47 loss to Alma, and in week four the back ran for 152 yards and two scores on 20 touches.
“The first game felt really good because we came out with a win,” Grace said. “We’ve had two really hard losses, and this last week, the whole team kept their heads up and [we won]. I have to give all my credit to the line. Without them, I wouldn’t have any of these numbers.
It was a year ago that Grace, who has been on varsity since his sophomore season, had to split time with starting running back Jared Briguglio. With Briguglio graduating, the bulk of the carries have gone Grace’s way.
“It’s been a little different,” Grace said of being the feature back. “You get a little more tired in the game, not splitting between two people, but I like it, it’s been good. I think the experience has helped me a lot. I got that extra year to get used to the changes and the more intense speed of the game, I think it’s helped me a lot.”
Though Briguglio was the main back, that didn’t mean Grace wasn’t without his shining moments.
“We would run him at fullback sometimes last year and then Jared missed a couple of games,” Bourbina said. “You knew he had the potential. He was on special teams last year, and ran a couple of kicks back. When a kid is doing that, you know he is going to do a solid job for you when he gets an opportunity. He’s done that so far; we’ve rode him pretty good.”
His coach feels Grace’s emergence has helped his team to average over 36 points a game.
“He’s a solid back that gives us a lot of threat possibilities that you have to be concerned about,” Bourbina said. “He helps make us a pretty solid offensive football team. That combination has made us pretty successful offensively so far this year. I think we can get better yet as we go along this year. We have the ability with him to do that.”
On top of putting up impressive stats, Bourbina says Grace is learning how to be a team leader as well.
“He’s learning what to do [as a leader], and that he has to show people [what to do] and not just tell people,” he said. “This is his first opportunity to be a leader. He hasn’t had to step up in the past. Sometimes the followers, once they’ve done it enough, they step in as leaders. I’m happy with how he’s stepped in as a leader. He’s stepped up to the table all the time so far.”
The Vikings have made the playoffs each of the last thee seasons, and Grace hopes to see his team in the playoffs again, this time as the leader.
“I just want to help the team out the best I can, whatever I have to do to help the team win,” he said. “Right now our team goal is to just take it one game at a time and slowly get to the playoffs.”