Friday Night Lights Bright for Grand Terrace,Titans Earn Victory in Season Opener

Friday Night Lights is officially back in Grand Terrace, with a packed house at the Titan Stadium last Friday evening, Sept.6, to witness the first game of the 2013 season where the Grand Terrace High School (GTHS) Titans went up against the new Indian Springs High School (ISHS) Coyotes. Wasting no time and scoring 22 points in the first quarter, GTHS showed their strength early on this season, ending the match with a 56–0 victory. Led by a strong running game and stingy defense, Grand Terrace recorded their first shutout in school history. The Titans scored on 8 rushing touchdowns, with sophomore Devon Dixon (#26) scoring three, senior Cruz Duke (#21) with two and one each by junior Chris Santoscoy (#13), senior Nehemiah Perez (#27) and senior Ralph Mohammed (#2). Defense also passed one passing touchdown (from #2 Mohammad to #21 Duke). Defense was also behind five quarterback sacks (junior Kyle Starr, #10, sophomore Keilon Bradford, #17; senior James Shipley, #32; sophomore Juilon Graham, #51; and senior Carvallo Diego, #77) and one interception by junior Jose Rodriguez, #42. “We executed offensively and defensively really well, and that was nice, especially early on,” said Titans Head Coach Harold Strauss. “It was a great kickoff [to the season] and it really got our confidence up and going.” In the coming weeks, the team will continue to work together and try to minimize mistakes, Strauss added. “I’ve told them that it’s going to get tougher each week, and we’ve sort of built our schedule that way. We’re still trying to get better every day, and we’re looking to watch our tapes and clean up the mistakes we can see so we can [keep getting] better.” The varsity win comes on the heels of the freshmen team’s victory the previous day, on Sept. 5. The freshmen took the win against the Coyotes with an identical 56–0 final score. The next game is slated for this coming Friday, Sept. 13, where GTHS will take on Arroyo Valley High School at home. The game’s kickoff will be at 7 p.m., and a pregame ceremony will honor veterans. Grand Terrace High School is located at 21810 Main St. in Grand Terrace.