Copper Basin off to hot start on football field

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Copper Basin quarterback Bryson Grabowski, right, tries to evade Howard's Javion Robinson during a Best of Preps jamboree matchup Aug. 17 at Finley Stadium.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Copper Basin quarterback Bryson Grabowski, right, tries to evade Howard's Javion Robinson during a Best of Preps jamboree matchup Aug. 17 at Finley Stadium.

It's early still, but Copper Basin's football team is enjoying its best start to a season in recent years.

In Chad Grabowski's second year as head coach, the Cougars are 2-1 and snapped a four-game Region 3-1A losing streak last Friday with a convincing 40-7 win over Sale Creek.

The Cougars, who opened the season with their first win over neighboring rival Polk County since 2002, are just 32 points from equaling last year's total for points scored. This is only the second time in the last five seasons they have opened by winning two of their first three games.

Grabowski's son Bryson, a junior quarterback, set a school record by throwing for 366 yards and three touchdowns against Sale Creek. He also ran for three scores against the Panthers, and with 683 passing yards through three games, he is less than 700 yards from also setting the program record for single-season passing yardage.

"We're not really a passing offense, we're just taking what the defense gives us, and so far the defenses have tried to take away our run game, which has opened up the passing lanes," Coach Grabowski said. "It's been awesome to see the growth in these guys from when we first got here.

photo Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Copper Basin quarterback Bryson Grabowski passes while teammate Addison Hook tries to hold off Howard's Nickey Banks during a Best of Preps jamboree matchup Aug. 17 at Finley Stadium.

"The big difference is we were here for the whole offseason, so we were able to get them in the weightroom and teach them how to study film and prepare for games. Now we have a team that can be really good."

Grabowski coached Red Bank to back-to-back region titles and four consecutive playoff appearances, including the Class 3A semifinals in 2017. However, he was relieved of his duties as coach by Red Bank administrators after that season and three months later accepted the offer to take over at Copper Basin.

The Cougars were coming off a third straight losing season, and they finished 1-9 last year under Grabowski.

"When I got here, they only had 17 kids coming out and there had been talk about whether they could even field a team anymore," the 41-year-old Grabowski said. "Now we've got 38 on the roster and you can see a tremendous difference.

"I'm a believer that things happen for a reason. It's been really gratifying to see the progress these kids have made and how the community has rallied around them. It's pretty awesome."

Prior to Bryson Grabowski's big game last week, the most passing yards in a single game by a Copper Basin quarterback was 287 by Rusty Boggs in 1984.

After Friday night's nonregion game at Class 2A's Tellico Plains, the Cougars will have a key region game next week at 2018 state champion Whitwell, a matchup that will determine playoff positioning and potentially a first-round home game. It will be Whitwell's region opener after beginning the season against four teams from higher classifications.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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