​Eagles freshman has breakout game in 63-7 blowout of Bears

by Michael Smith


Grain Valley head coach David Allie decided to try something new.

His Eagles took on Suburban White Conference rival William Chrisman Friday at Norman James Field, and on the second drive of the game, he lined up freshman wide receiver Dawson Head in the Wildcat formation.

Head broke off a 53-yard run, which set up his 1-yard touchdown run, the first of his varsity career, to put the Eagles ahead 14-0. He was one of multiple Eagles to accomplish a first-time varsity feat as Grain Valley steamrolled the Bears 63-6.

Head is a transfer from Knoxville, Tenn., and had played at the running back position in middle school. He also was a state track champion, so Allie wanted to utilize his speed at the wide receiver position. That was on display on only on the 54-yard run, but on a 17-yard touchdown pass in which he caught from quarterback Chase Neer as he beat a Chrisman cornerback on a waggle route late in the second period.

“We had that wildcat package and have been working on it in practice for the last couple of weeks,” Allie said. “I thought we needed to try it in this game, and he did a great job running the ball. He’s explosive.”

Neer and senior running back Robert Palmer said they were impressed with the freshman.

“Dawson is probably the fastest player on the team, so we have to find a way to get him the ball,” Neer said.

Added Palmer: “We need to see him back there some more. I can’t wait to see him grow.”

Head said he was excited to get his first varsity score.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Head said. “It was a long process but I am happy to be here.”

That wasn’t the only first-time accomplishment for an Eagle during the contest. Sophomore Carter Cygan, the backup place kicker for Grain Valley, made three extra points late; and freshman Brodie Davis and senior Jacob Moore scored their first varsity touchdowns, on a 2-yard and 3-yard run, respectively.

“(Moore) is a senior that is behind our varsity running backs on the depth chart, but we’ve tried him at other positions like defensive line to get him some playing time. Brody is a freshman who plays up at the junior varsity level some and plays on the freshman team, too.”

Palmer continued his spectacular season as he rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. He scored on runs of 7 and 9 as he went into the end zone untouched both times. Through three games, he has 659 yards on the ground and five TDs.

Last season, Simone Award finalist and first-team all-state running back Ty Williams had 571 yards and eight touchdowns through his first three games. So far, Palmer is on pace to have a similar season as Grain Valley’s previous star running back.

“This has been crazy,” Palmer said. “I never would have thought this would happen. The offensive line was amazing. They provided great blocking.”

Added Neer: “(Palmer has) been amazing. He really started standing out in that first game. Throughout the summer and preseason, we thought it was going to be a three-headed monster at running back, but he took over that No. 1 spot.”

Neer added a 63-yard touchdown pass on third-and-21 on a screen to running back DJ Harris and also had a 5-yard scoring run on his team’s opening drive. Harris ran the ball five times for 89 yards and another TD from 1 yard out.

William Chrisman had its only score on a 79-yard TD run from sophomore Stefan Castorena with 1:08 left in the contest.

On defense, senior safety Aaron Barr had an interception of Chrisman quarterback Declan Watson and as a team, the Eagles had eight tackles for a loss and one sack from senior defensive end Alex Osborn.

Senior running back Robert Palmer, left, and freshman wide receiver Dawson Head each had two touchdowns to help Grain Valley blow out William Chrisman Friday at Norman James Field.
​Photo credit: Michael Smith

The Eagles had eight tackles for a loss and one sack from senior defensive end Alex Osborn.
​Photo credit: Addie Kennedy

On defense, senior safety Aaron Barr had an interception of Chrisman quarterback Declan Watson. ​Photo credit: John Overstreet