Bryce Hirayama
Student Sports Media
The Butler Grizzlies are going back to the postseason for the second year in a row following another winning season, finishing 9-3, under Head Coach Tim Schaffner. The Grizzlies went 8-4 last year and appeared in the Midwest Classic Bowl Miami, Oklahoma. Last year they took on Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, and the Grizzlies won by a score of 34-30.
This year the Grizzlies are returning to Miami, but this time they are taking on the Trinity Valley (Texas) Cardinals. Trinity Valley finished the year with a record of 7-3. Their offensive and defensive leaders are their quarterback Jeremy Hunt and linebacker Race Moser.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback finished with 2,227 yards with a 62.4 % completion rating. Hunt also finished with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. Moser on the defensive side also had a great year. The sophomore had 119 total tackles, 49 solo and 70 assisted.
On the other side, the Grizzlies are led by their two leaders wide receiver George Qualls and linebacker Charlie Gray. The sophomore wide receiver, Quall’s, finished the year with 41 receptions and six touchdowns. On the defensive side, sophomore linebacker Charlie Gray finished the year 75 total tackles, 32 solo and 43 assisted.
The Midwest Classic Bowl has been around for three years and Independence from the Jayhawk Conference was one of the two teams in the inaugural game back in 2017. This will be the last year of the Midwest Classic Bowl’s existence and the matchup in this year’s game will see a seven versus 13 matchup as the Grizzlies are ranked 7 and the Cardinals are ranked 13th.
The game will take place at Red Robertson Field at 2 p.m on Sunday, Dec. 8. All fans are encouraged to come out and support the Grizzlies attempt to repeat as champions of the Midwest Classic Bowl. If you can not make it out to Miami, Oklahoma you can listen to the game on 88.1 The Grizz or online at KBTL.Butlercc.edu.
