GRANTS - How long has it been since the Grants football team posted more than 300 yards of offense, prior to last Friday's contest with Socorro? You'd probably have to go back many years and many games to find out.

Hawk Veteran Quarterback Justin “Boots” Gallegos prepares a throw while teammate wide receiver Isaiah Homes looks downfield for a toss in practice last week.BEACON / TESHIMA

But GHS players know that one performance cannot dictate a season, especially since most of them consider their performance against the Warriors an incomplete one, especially since they didn't come out with a victory.

“I think we all were nervous because it was our first game,” senior quarterback Charles Miller said. “But I think we all played with heart and decided to step up in the second half and start playing.”

Indeed they did, and indeed they made a game of it, scoring 22 second-half points to make things interesting at 41-28. However, most Pirates are taking a “that was then, this is now” approach to the team coming to town tonight, the Gallup Bengals.

“The line did pretty well; we were able to help Brandon (Rael) rush for 150 yards and Chas (Miller) to pass for 183 yards (against Socorro),” senior offensive lineman Thomas Dixon said. “This week we'll be hurting because we're missing some people on the line, but we have some good young kids stepping up.”

Gallup comes in at 0-1, just like the Pirates, victims of a one-point loss to Farmington. Pirate players know that if their 13-point loss stings, then perhaps a one-point loss stings even more, and that game seemed to mirror Grants' loss a bit, ironically enough.

A 52-yard run by Farmington quarterback Tyler Hough sealed the victory for the Scorpions while back Daniel Lacey racked up 116 yards in the first half alone. This might not bode well for the GHS defense, if it takes a while to get started, much like it did against Socorro. Third-year safety Derreck Hassell acknowledged that it probably took too long for the defense to start firing on all cylinders.

“It was a matter of not being focused, and we told each other we didn't want go back to how we used to be,” Hassell said.

He said that the Bengals will likely try to run the ball against he and his other Pirate defenders and he feels confident that they'll be ready to stop the running attack.

“They have a big running game, so we'll need to set up our defense to stop it,” Hassell said. “If we're not ready, things could go like they did early on against Socorro, so we'll have to set the tone early.”

Dixon agrees with this mentality, and said that the offensive line's performance against Socorro should make each of its members realize that they do have some ability.

“Being a lineman this year requires more stamina; we ran nearly 100 plays last week,” Dixon said. “All of us have to have the strong will to play and quitting is not acceptable.”

He said that one of the many goals the offensive line has this week is preventing the Bengals from getting to Miller.

“We have to pick up the blitz that Gallup has, it's very strong,” Dixon said. “We have to be able to give Chas more time to make decisions.”

Though Miller did feel some pressure from Socorro, he did not commit a turnover, something GHS coach Dale Hooper lauded his quarterback for.

Tonight's game begins at 7 p.m. at Pirate Stadium. Following this contest, Grants travels to Laguna-Acoma for the annual “Cibola Bowl” contest, which takes place on Sept. 11.