Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Grand Valley's John Foss-Peters (right) rushes by Mathews defender Caden Brubaker, on ground, as GV's Grayson Polonus (left) follows the action.

VIENNA — It’s been a tumultuous 2024 season for both Mathews and Grand Valley.

As they entered the Week 7 faceoff on Friday, one of those teams had one win to their name, while the other was working toward win No. 1.

On Friday, Grand Valley struck early and often, playing spoiler to Mathews’ homecoming game in a 44-8 victory for the Mustangs in blue, the team’s first of the year.

“It’s been a rough start to the season,” Grand Valley coach Clint Nims said. “We’ve had a lot of unfortunate things happen to us, and these guys have been through a lot of adversity. We talk about just showing up every day, doing our job, doing what we’re supposed to do, and eventually something good is going to happen.

“And that’s a good life lesson, right? Sometimes bad things happen in life. You can’t give up. You’ve got to keep trying and keep giving your best. I’m so proud of the effort they gave tonight. None of these guys gave up. They showed up every day, and it paid off with a huge victory.”

The Grand Valley offense was potent in the first half, scoring all but eight of its points in the first two quarters.

With six freshmen in the lineup, youthful woes plagued Mathews all evening. First-half turnovers set Grand Valley up multiple times in prime scoring position, allowing them to rack up points quickly.

Playing young guys isn’t just potential and hope, there’s some ugly moments there as well.

But taking these lumps now are essential to build toward the potential that coach Mat Polta sees in his young group.

“Continuing to learn, continuing to get better, that’s what we really look for,” Polta said. “All of our kids are, you know, sophomores. A lot of freshmen are playing right now. They’re getting better every week. They’re continuing to excel at everything they’re doing. They’re just working on it. And that’s what we want. We want to continue to get better. That’s the big thing.”

While it didn’t lead to points, quarterback Caden Brubaker closed the game out with a great run, weaving through Grand Valley tacklers, showcasing the potential Polta is hoping to build toward.

Mathews has to dust itself off quickly, as next week’s showdown with Pymatuning Valley, arguably the toughest team on the schedule.

After the victory festivities of ringing the bell and Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”, Grand Valley will prepare for its Week 8 opponent, Rootstown.

“I thought we played really well offensively and defensively. We ran to the football, the effort was fantastic, and we’ve been preaching that all year long. I know sometimes when things don’t go your way, it’s easy to not give your best, but these guys keep fighting and we’re going to continue to fight going into next week.”