Geoff Moff
Sports Scene
Beyond the record-shattering statistics and the postseason honors, Swan Valley junior running back Alex Grace had a season full of memorable highlights on the field.
When the Vikings needed the 6’2″, 180-pounder to provide a big play, he did.
Grace broke the Michigan High School Athletic Association record for season yards in what looked like a script from a storybook. With his team trailing Lansing Sexton 20-14 late in the fourth quarter of the Division 4 state quarterfinal game, he smashed the state record with a 80-yard touchdown run that eventually gave the Vikings a 21-20 lead with less than four minutes left.
Sexton responded with a touchdown and knocked off Swan Valley 26-21. Grace finished the game with 36 carries for 236 yards and set the state record at 2,952 yards, eclipsing the 2,890 yards set by Chippewa Valley’s Chris Lomasney.
The season ended like it started, with Grace making the big plays.
In the season-opener against rival Nouvel Catholic Central, Grace fumbled twice in the first half , as Nouvel staked a 20-7 halftime lead. Grace battled through heat-related cramping to score three touchdowns, including a 6-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left in the game to lift the Vikings to a 27-20 victory.
After a light load and an easy win over Shepherd, the Vikings started slowly against Freeland, which had come in with a two-game win streak against the Vikings. By the end of the first quarter, Grace had only 15 yards, and his team was down 13-0. He ended the game with a career-high 337 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries .
“It all starts up front,” said Grace, who credited his offensive line throughout the season. “The offensive line did an excellent job of making holes. When I got a little tired in the end and I was breathing heavy, I just kept thinking this could be my last play and just keep running hard.”
In wins over Freeland, Ovid-Elsie, Alma, and Hemlock that improved the Vikings to 6-0, Grace rushed for 1,256 yards and 13 touchdowns. His encore to that four-game stretch was 145 yards rushing and three touchdown on seven carries in a win over Chesaning. He also threw a pair of touchdowns in the win.
After closing the unbeaten regular season with 276-yard and 243-yard efforts, Grace was limited to 187 yards and two touchdowns on a rain-soaked, mud-filled field at Heritage for the Division 4 first round playoff game with Yale.With the top-ranked Vikings on the verge of getting upset, Grace squirted through for the game-winning 4-yard touchdown run with 2:10 left in the game.
He continued his penchant for big games when the Vikings needed him the most. He scored four of his five touchdowns in the first quarter of Swan Valley’s 54-28 win over Garber in the second round of the playoffs. Grace finished with 19 carries for 262 yards in the win.
Grace was rewarded as The Associated Press Division 3-4 Player of the Year. He ranks 13th on the MHSAA career rushing yard list with 5,115 yards, and he needs only 2,689 yards to reach the second-most career yards in MHSAA history. He probably can’t catch East Grand Rapids running back Kevin Grady, Jr., who holds the career mark at 8,431 yards.
And while it’s unlikely Grace will smash his own state record and take the career mark with 3,316 yards next season, he’s going to have plenty of memorable moments again during his effort.