On Gans‚ Senior Night, the struggling Grizzlies secured a spot in the postseason playoffs with a 50-20 rout of Foyil in Friday‚s District B-6 matchup.

Gans head coach Brian Morton was proud of the effort that got his charges to this accomplishment in just his second year as their head coach.

“We were able to utilize our spread offense, and Hunter Walters hit multiple targets with receptions by Clay Martinez, Caleb Martin, Nakota White and Christian Martinez. In the first half, we concentrated on passing, and our tempo, our timing were really working well,” Morton said.

The first quarter ended with Gans up 8-6, and the Grizzlies went into halftime owning a 20-14 advantage by utilizing a pass-centric offense that was hitting on all cylinders. Morton took advantage of the rain earlier in the week and held practice just for Friday‚s scenario, which paid impressive dividends.

On the first series of the second half, Foyil was able to tie the game at 20, but the Grizzlies‚ defense adjusted and tightened, not letting Foyil back into the endzone for the rest of the game.

The pass-heavy first half provided a nearly textbook softening of the Foyil defense, which allowed Gans to run the ball without the resistance they experienced early, giving Martinez the openings he needed to move the ball.

“Our passing game was on. Everything was there, and we were able to pick them off on offense once they softened up where we could run it. Martinez ran the ball extremely well for us,” Morton said.

Gans travels to play the District B-6 top-ranked Keota Lions in the final regular-season game at 7 p.m.