As the Wolverines trailed 3-7 against second round playoff opponent Lancaster, senior quarterback Brennan Myer received the snap at the 25-yard line and looked down the field for an open teammate. He then found one of his favorite targets, senior wide receiver Donovan Woolen, in the end zone for a spectacular catch to give them the lead with 27 seconds left in the second quarter.
“[It gave us] some life. I felt like we had the game and had a chance to win,” sophomore wide receiver Grayson Myer said.
Unfortunately, Woolen hit the ground hard upon making the reception and suffered a concussion, putting both his teammates and fans in distress.
“It was really tough to see him go down because he wasn’t getting up,” Grayson Myer said. “Our whole team [knew] we were going to need some people to step up.”
However, as the Wolverines looked to carry momentum into the second half, Lancaster scored with eight seconds left in the second quarter on a 70-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Carter Jones to senior wide receiver Ti’Erick Martin.
“It was a miscommunication between our whole defense. That really put us down right before the half [and] changed the mood,” Grayson Myer said.
With the Wolverines losing both in their hearts and on the scoreboard, following Woolen’s injury and Lancaster’s touchdown, their energy shifted, and they never overcame their deficits, losing 19-35 on November 17, 2023.
“Missing Donny (Woolen) [really hurt us]. He plays both sides of the ball, so missing him was huge,” Grayson Myer said.
Not only was the loss of Woolen felt in the second half but the Wolverines also did not perform well as a team defensively during the entirety of the game.
“If you recall back to the Mansfield Timberview game, as a defense, we created a lot of turnovers,” Grayson Myer said. “We had a couple fourth down stops [against Lancaster], but we didn’t have as many picks. Blown coverages really hurt us.”
Despite the playoffs ending sooner than expected, Grayson Myer has a positive reflection on the season.
“My brother and I always looked forward to this season, so I’m always going to remember what happened this season, no matter what happens next season and the other season,” Grayson Myer said. “It was really cool to play with my brother, and we waited so long to play together on the varsity level.”
Even though the loss brings many endings with Brennan Myer and other seniors playing their last games, it also paves the way for new beginnings, as it is now Grayson Myer’s time to lead the Wolverines.
“I’m going to try to be the best leader I can be on the team. Being a sophomore on varsity, I have some experience that others who will be on varsity next year don’t have,” Grayson Myer said.
