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Grant cools off Franklin to take control of PIL race — but Generals’ goals extend far beyond a league title

“We really want to put the PIL on our shoulders and show that there is some good football being played here.”
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By Alex Tam | Photos by Ken Waz   

SOUTHEAST PORTLAND — If Friday proved anything, it’s that Grant remains the team to beat in PIL football.

The Generals won the league title outright in 2019 but shared it in 2018 and 2021 — and if it’s up to them, sharing the city championship for a third time in the past five years is not on their minds.

“We made it a goal this year that we didn’t want to split the PIL title,” first-year head coach Alex Melson said. “That’s something that’s happened to us the last few years, and we really wanted to dictate our future as far as the playoff goes.”

Behind an emerging defense and an offense that finally had a breakthrough performance, Grant won its fourth consecutive game with a 35-0 shutout over Franklin on Friday night at Franklin High School. 

Both teams entered their highly anticipated meeting with a 3-0 record in league play. The upstart Lightning were third in 6A in scoring, averaging 41.8 points per game, and had outscored opponents 167-33 during their undefeated start to the season.

Grant had other plans, recording its second shutout in the past three games. Since PIL play started, the Generals have allowed 5.8 points per game, and they could be a team to watch when the postseason begins. 

“It’s the next step in the chapter for our team in the PIL,” said Grant senior Marshune Waters, who had two interceptions and scored a touchdown. “It’s showing us that we’ve got more to prove.”

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Grant had five players score touchdowns — a big step forward for a team that averaged 15.2 points entering Friday’s game. Senior quarterback Kellen Segel completed 10 of 16 passes for 163 yards with three touchdowns, and he ran for another score.

“This is the first week where our offense has really gotten going,” Segel said. “And there’s some huge things to come. Our offense was killing it and that’s what we needed. We’ve been struggling recently, but we turned it on today and it showed out on the scoreboard.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Grant got on the board when Segel lofted a pass over the defense to a streaking Waters down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Generals forced a three-and-out, and following Waters’ punt return to Franklin’s 15, they immediately scored again on Segel’s 15-yard strike to senior Dakota Hoffart on a slant for a 14-0 lead with 9:10 to go in the first half.

Waters recorded his second interception with 34 seconds to play. Four plays later, Segel ran for a 2-yard touchdown as the first-half clock expired and gave the Generals a commanding 21-0 lead.

“I’d say we’ve been trying to find our groove (offensively),” Melson said. “We implemented a whole new system this year. There’s going to be some kinks to work out. We got a different offensive coordinator this year, so things are going to be different. But I knew it might take a while for those things to come together and I knew they’d come together tonight.” 

Franklin had a couple strong drives early but was doomed by turnovers and penalties. The Lightning had four turnovers, including two interceptions and two fumbles.

“It affected the outcome of the game,” Franklin coach Jamal Jones said. “They went out there and they competed at a high level, and we didn’t. And that’s the result.”

Grant scored twice more in the second half — starting with Segel’s 78-yard touchdown pass to junior Charles Manigo with 1:43 to go in the third.

The Generals iced the victory with junior backup quarterback Cameron Reed’s seven-yard touchdown run with 1:11 remaining, which activated the running clock.

“We were just executing and going after their weaknesses,” Segel said. “Our O-line played great this week and we limited penalties, and that’s what really helped us out.”

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Senior running back Jayden Moses had seven carries for a team-high 46 yards. Manigo led Grant in receiving yards with three catches for 84 yards.

Franklin was led by junior quarterback Will Reid, who completed 11 of 19 passes for 89 yards. Senior Malachi Gray had five carries for 23 yards, senior Max Wallace finished with three catches for 35 yards, and senior Saul Brucker had three receptions for 32 yards.

Jones’ message to his team in the postgame huddle was easy: Be ready to work out on Monday.

“It’s as simple as it gets,” Jones said. “It was a bad night to have a bad night and we’ll be ready to get to work on Monday. …

“We don't take moral victories. We got our (butts) drilled tonight and that’s on us as coaches, that’s on me as a head coach.”

For the Generals (4-2 overall, 4-0 PIL), where do they fit among the state contenders? Ask any players or coaches, and they believe they are part of the conversation to be a factor in the playoffs.

“You know teams are always overlooking the PIL,” Melson said. “They always think we don’t play good football, and we kind of take that to heart. We really want to put the PIL on our shoulders and show that there is some good football being played here.”

For now, the Generals know they have a target on their backs every time they play another school in the city. It’s a challenge they’re happy to accept with three league games remaining, starting with Cleveland on Thursday. 

“As a Grant alum, it’s just a little more personal for me because I know the potential we can have here and I know the types of kids we get here,” Melson said. “Teams are always going to circle us on the calendar and give us the best they could, so we take pride in that. We take pride in being able to show up in a situation like this and show that we are still the team to beat in the league.”

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Grant 35, Franklin 0

Grant – 0 – 21 – 7 – 7 — 35

Franklin – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0

Second quarter

11:05 G - Marshune Waters 40 pass from Kellen Segel (Andrew Gray PAT)

9:10 G - Dakota Hoffart 15 pass from Segel (Gray PAT)

0:00 G - Segel 2 run (Gray PAT)

Third quarter

1:43 G - Charles Manigo 78 pass from Segel (Gray PAT)

Fourth quarter

1:11 G - Cameron Reed 7 run (Gray PAT)

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STATISTICS

Passing: Grant - Kellen Segel 10-16, 163, 3 TDs, Cameron Reed 1-2, 8; Franklin - Will Reid 11-19, 89, 3 INTs

Rushing: Grant - Reed 3-20, TD, Segel, 3-11, TD, Jayden Moses 7-46, Emile Cantrell-Moore 5-22, Camari Owens 8-17; Franklin - Jamell Brumfield 5-23, Reid 7-17, Josiah Heintzman 9-15, Francisco Soriano 1-11

Receiving: Grant - Charles Manigo 3-84, TD, Marshune Waters 1-40, TD, Dakota Hoffart 1-15, TD, Milan Clark 3-13, Owens 1-7, Moses 1-4; Franklin - Max Wallace 3-35, Saul Brucker 3-32, Cash Landau 2-8, Brumfield 1-9, Ethan Aman 1-6

Our complete high school football preview:

Breaking down every 6A, 5A, 4A team in the state

Our Week 6 predictions:

How did we do?

State leaders through Week 5:

Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A

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