Grapeland Trounces Normangee, 47-18
Sandies Move to 3-1
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
NORMANGEE – The Grapeland Sandies hit the road on Friday for a matchup against the Normangee Panthers. For the last week, the Sandies had a bad taste in their mouths from the one-point loss to Crockett.
It certainly seemed to serve as motivation for both the Grapeland offense and defense as they walloped the Panthers by a final score of 47-18.
The game was delayed by weather but when the Sandies took the field, it didn’t appear as if the wet turf was going to slow the high-powered Grapeland offense down in the least.
On their second play from scrimmage, Sandie QB Rick Frauenberger saw WR BJ Lamb had a step on the Normangee secondary and he put the ball right where it needed to be.
Lamb juggled the reception at first but regained possession of the rock and took it the rest of the way to pay dirt for an early lead.
The Sandies tacked on another TD they next time they touched the ball on a one yard-plunge following a 34-yard scamper from Josh Ackley.
Grapeland stymied a Normangee drive late in the first quarter as Keizion Ashford picked off a pass in the end zone. This led to another score and gave the Sandies a lead they would never relinquish as they coasted to an easy 47-18 win.
The win moves the Sandies’ record to 3-1 so far this season. Grapeland opened the year with a 27-0 shutout of Milano followed by a 28-8 win over Cayuga.
The only blemish on Grapeland’s record is the 19-18 loss to Crockett aided by a very controversial call as time was winding down.
Offensively, the Grapeland line has held up well and has given senior QB Rick Frauenberger to complete 57 of 95 passes attempted for 1,074 yards with nine TDs and 6 interceptions.
Career-wise, Frauenberger is now 549/928 for 8,049 yards passing and has 84 TD passes.
One of Frauenberger’s many weapons is sophomore BJ Lamb who has hauled 22 receptions for 436 yards and four TDs.
When the Sandies go to the ground, senior RB Josh “Bear” Ackley has been solid with 32 carries for 321 yards with four TDs.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Sandies are only giving up an average of 11.1 points per game. In addition, the Grapeland defense has seven interceptions through the first four games of the season.
Among the defensive standouts so far are sophomore Cooper Sheridan who has 54 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks.
Ackley is not only a beast on the offensive side of the ball, he roams the field from sideline to sideline on defense. He has 53 tackles with eight tackles for a loss. Ackley also has a pair of sacks, a blocked kick a forced fumble, an interception and has broken up a pass.
Seniors James Lee Coleman III and Lane Dreher are also making their presence known on the field. Coleman has 40 tackles and one tackle for loss in three games. Dreher has 32 tackles, with 10 TFL and one sack.
League play in District 12-2A DII gets underway this week as the Sandies host the Evadale Rebels on Friday, Sept. 27. Grapeland beat Evadale in Bi-District last year by a score of 28-27. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
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