Football Recap: Chase Grow Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Gretna

Gretna East had won four straight at home, but on Friday they bumped up to 8-1 to make it five. They walked away with a 35-28 win over the Gretna Dragons. 35 seems to be a good number for the Griffins as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.

Chase Grow

Passer Rating

10/24/25 vs Gretna	153.3
10/16/25 @ Elkhorn North	100.5
10/10/25 @ Ralston	93
10/02/25 vs Platteview	127.2
09/26/25 @ Plattsmouth	109.8
+ 7 more games

Gretna East's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chase Grow, who threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes, and also rushed for 63 yards on only seven carries. What's more, Grow racked up 153.3 passer rating, the most he's had since back in October of 2024. Another back making a difference was Connor Sams, who rushed for 129 yards and a pair of scores.

Gretna East didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cade Thompson and Jace Larchick.

As for Gretna, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 5-4 record. Despite 100 more yards than Gretna East, the Dragons couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.

Defeat or not, Gretna got some senior leadership from Michael Knudsen and Bryce Lakers. Knudsen threw for 333 yards and three TDs, while Lakers picked up 152 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. With that strong performance, Lakers is now averaging an impressive 102.4 receiving yards per game.

Gretna East and Gretna are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. The Griffins will host Standing Bear at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Gretna, they will venture away from home to square off against Norris at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Dragons will need to watch out since the Titans have now posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season.