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By Ron Marvel

Star Correspondent

Despite a heartbreaking 27-26 loss to the Cosby Eagles this Friday, Highlanders head coach Zac Benfield was quick to acknowledge the play of sophomore Grayson Cole. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound underclassman had 217 yards on 21 carries, and his defensive efforts nearly rallied the Highlanders from a fourth-quarter deficit.

Cole is quickly approaching 1,000 yards rushing on the season with double-digit touchdowns. However, in speaking to him, he quickly referred back to team goals and shared the lessons he and his team took from the tough loss Friday night.

“We have to do better. I have to do better. The penalties, the mistakes — they have to be cleaned up. These are things we can fix,” Cole shared.

That team-first mentality is one of the qualities coach Benfield emphasized that makes Cole a special player.

“He has a team-first mentality and cares about winning more than anything,” Benfield said. “He wants to be the best running back he can be, and he goes out in practice every day wanting to prove that to himself.”

That desire to win and compete is evident in his style of play. Despite being on the smaller side, he is difficult to bring down and combines that power with quickness. For Grayson, competing bleeds over into other parts of his life. He has a 3.8 GPA, shoots skeet, and enjoys fishing, but his true passion is lining up with his teammates and pushing himself and them to be the best they can be.

When asked, his goals start with the team first.

“I have goals for myself, but it’s always team first,” he said. Although he knows Friday’s loss was tough, Grayson believes all of those team goals are still out there for the taking.

“We have our minds on a state appearance. We are going to prove some people wrong. I know when we execute and play mistake-free football, we can play at a high level. We are really close right now,” Cole exclaimed.