Noah Grimett's debut varsity start is stellar

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Claremore Zebras found themselves in a bind in the opening week of district play as they took on the top-ranked defending state champions from Bixby. When word came that Spartan star running back Nic Roller would be sitting out the game, the Zebras thought the odds were on their side--right up until their starting quarterback had to leave the game. 

They found their saving grace in 5'8" 215-pound sophomore Noah Grimett. Grimett wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 2-yard run to cut the Zebra deficit to 17-14 with just over a minute in the first half.

His next big play came on an 80-yard touchdown pass to Paul Hoke for the final Claremore score of the game. Though the game was a 20-point loss, it was a moral victory as they proved they could roll with the best as they lead the Spartans multiple times and didn't allow the state champs to pull away until the fourth quarter.

The next week Grimett got his first varsity start at quarterback in a district match-up against the Sand Springs Sandites, but looking at his stats, you wouldn't think it was his first. Though he only scored one touchdown, it was an impressive 28-yard pass to Paul Hoke and it was against one of the best defenses in the state.

Grimett was 6 of 11 for 106 with zero interceptions and led both teams in rushing with 89 yards over 28 plays. Though Arron McCollough expected to return in week 7 against Muskogee, Grimett will get one more start next week when they take on yet another top ranked team--Booker T Washington at home.

With two and a half seasons ahead of him and two solid games under his belt, the future looks bright for young Noah Grimett.