Gans plays last non-district game at Porum

Gans travels to Porum today for its last non-district game of the season at 7 p.m.

The Panthers‚ game tonight is Gans head coach Brian Morton‚s last chance to see the results of changes he‚s made before the Grizzlies start district play.

The Grizzlies have an open date next week, so Morton will have a week off that Gans will use to heal and Morton can apply changes learned during tonight‚s game before kicking off their first district game at Welch Oct. 7.

The Panthers will be one of the toughest tests of the season for the inexperienced Grizzlies.

Porum head coach Larry Childers came out of retirement last year to return to coaching for the 2022 season, and brings 44 years of experience with him.

Porum returns six offensive starters from last year‚s 1-9 team, starting with quarterback and leader Seth Brown, who‚s supported by offensive line leader Lane Bailey and skills players Cooper Franklin and Braden Stennet, who fill a variety of positions.

The Panthers‚ defense has five returning starters, three of which include Franklin and Bailey, as well as defensive leader Stennet with 95 tackles last season.

Morton has his charges focused on protecting the ball better to keep their momentum in order to keep their defense off the field.

“It‚s fundamentals and inexperience right now,” Morton said. “There‚s still parts of our game that‚s getting better every game we‚re seeing some things. We just gotta get it all together. I mean, honestly, I feel like we‚ll make a strong showing this week.”

To keep the Grizzlies focused on improvements and positive progress, Morton wants to keep getting better and moving the ball.

“Right now we‚re so short on defense that we‚re just trying to get guys in the right positions. Part of that falls on our boys, and part falls on the coaches. I feel like as of right now our boys have got to get better playing and in their roles.

“We are moving in the right direction,” Morton said. “I‚m seeing some improvements from the boys. District play hasn‚t started yet. We wanted to be playing our best ball when district got here, and I still think that‚s going to happen.

“We‚re making progress. As a coach, we want to see that progress happen quicker, but we‚re here for the long haul.”