Granite Falls football player: Game not fun when it’s a ‘blowout’

Granite Falls High School is the third straight team to forfeit a game set to be played against Everett’s Archbishop Murphy High School. The reason for the forfeiture: Archbishop Murphy players are significantly bigger, faster and stronger, creating legitimate safety concerns among parents and students.

One Granite Falls player joined The Dori Monson Show to share his perspective.

“You know, everyone’s kind of conflicted,” said Corey, a senior on the Granite Falls football team who plays offense, defense and special teams. “There was a lot of pride involved with wanting to play and it’s really hard to say no, especially (since) I’m a senior and it’s our last season and it’s really hard to give up one of those games.”

Archbishop Murphy football players tell their story

Still, Corey says that the team’s decision to forfeit was not just about one game but the ramifications an injury could have for the rest of their season.

“We have three games left, all are very competitive,” Corey said. “If we lose a starter in a game against Archbishop, we’re really hurting ourselves for the last three that are very winnable games, so we’re really just trying to look at the future.”

Those looking for parity and wondering how Archbishop Murphy could intimidate their opponents into forfeiture need only look at the 50-mile radius from which the Catholic private school is permitted to draw their students.

For Corey, his frustration with the situation has nothing to do with the Archbishop Murphy players themselves. He commends their ability and talent.

“They’re obviously all really good and if they want to be that super team, then that’s great,” Corey said. “They should play teams with that ability. There’s nothing against those kids, they’re all extreme athletes and they’ve all been brought up together and they play really great football. It’s fun to watch, but when they’re playing teams that really give them no competition, it’s not going to help make those kids better and it’s not a fun sport to watch when the game’s a blowout.”

Proposed solutions range from a separate league for private schools to allowing Archbishop Murphy to play at a 3A or 4A level, instead of the 2A designation at which they currently play.

As it stands right now, it’s a problem without a solution, with students on both sides of the field just wanting to play.

Listen to Dori’s interview with Granite Falls athletic director Joey Johnson.

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