PLENTY OF POSITIVES FOR TIGERS

    Groton Area’s football team didn’t have the season record it hoped for this fall, but 25-year head coach Shaun Wanner pointed to plenty of positives in the second year of the Tigers’ co-op agreement with Langford Area.
    “We got better every game and continued to play with a lot of energy during the season,” said Wanner.  “We could have folded the tent a month ago, but this group continued to show up every Monday ready to get after it.  Even though our record didn’t show it, we had a fun and successful season. Like I always tell our kids after our final game, life is full of challenges, there will be some tough times in their lives other than winning and losing football games.  We’re going to miss the seniors from both schools; they were great leaders and just an all-around great group of young men.”
    Groton Area will graduate 14 seniors from its 49-man roster.  Three of those seniors were Langford Area players – Conner Glines, Tucker Hardy, and Julian Rodriguez.  A total of eight LA gridders competed for the Tigers this season.
    The Tigers compiled a 3-5 regular season record, 2-3 in the Northeast Conference, and qualified for the Class 11B playoffs as a number 14 seed.  Clark-Willow Lake ended the GA season, downing the Tigers 35-0 in first round postseason action.
    Despite its losing record, GA outscored its opponents this season 189-165 and the Tigers’ 85 first downs was just one less than its foes.  Groton Area ran for 873 yards while allowing 1,129 and held a 734-458 advantage in passing yardage to win the total yardage statistic 1,607-1,587.
    Freshman quarterback Asher Johnson completed over half of his passes (66-126 for 734 yards) while throwing for five touchdowns.  He also was the team’s leading rusher, gaining 263 yards on 86 attempts and scoring six TD’s to total 997 offensive yards for the season.
    Sophomore Ryder Schelle contributed 245 yards and two scores on 74 runs.  Freshman Anthony Tracy was 37-162 and four scores, and senior Keegan Tracy 18-114 and a pair of touchdowns.
    Keegan Tracy was the team’s top receiver, grabbing 34 balls for 465 yards (13.7 ave.) and two touchdowns and also ran back seven punts for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 75-yard return.  Senior Ryder Johnson had 18 catches for 175 yards and a score.  Anthony Tracy ran back 14 kickoffs for 211 yards. 
    On the defensive side of the ball the Tigers came up with 14 pass interceptions, led by Ryder Johnson with five and Keegan Tracy and senior Lincoln Krause with two each.  Tucker Hardy came up with 39 tackles and 36 assists for a 75 total to lead the way in that department.  Conner Glines ranked second with 27 tackles and 24 assists for a 51 total, while senior Logan Warrington had 25 and 25 for 50 total.  Warrington led the team with six quarterback sacks as the Tigers came up with 28 sacks during the season.