ROUNDUP – Just four unbeatens remain across Class B football – one in each division. In the East, that team is Roundup.
The Panthers are crushing opponents, averaging 50 points per game behind an offense led by one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state, Brody Grebe.
“He always breaks one or two tackles and he’s gone,” said Roundup offensive lineman Chris Bradley. “It’s so easy for him, it seems like.”
Like any good senior captain, Grebe doesn’t just deflect tacklers, he deflects credit, too.
“I got to give credit to my linemen,” said the QB. “They’re awesome. They give me the chances that I get.”
Roundup will go as far as Grebe can take it, but the difference this year is that he’s not the entire Panthers offense.
“We obviously have Brody, but we also have a lot of other weapons,” Bradley said. “They try to overcompensate and I think that’s the key to being so successful.”
“Sometimes it’s throwing the ball, like last week we put it up about 25 times. And before that it was four to five passes against Baker,” said head coach Dana Quenzer. “Just keeping that balance has been very important for us.”
Balance has been a key for Quenzer, as well. He left the team for a while last season after a health scare and is back with an even-keel.
“More than anything, I love our kids and I love Panther football,” the head coach said. “I think just controlling myself a little bit more and making sure that my demeanor stays the same.”
“When something is gone for a little while, you definitely realize how much you miss it,” Grebe added, “and that’s how it was with him.”
That’s what a state championship has been like for the program. Roundup’s last title was 34 years ago. The Panthers have lost four consecutive opening-round playoff games, and they’re tired of it.
“They’re not just happy with making it and being there,” said Quenzer. “They really want to go further than that.”
“I think our mentality is different,” added Bradley. “We know how good we can be this year. We have high aspirations.”
“People overlook us all the time,” Grebe said. “We’re just going out here trying to make a statement every week.”
Grebe is certainly doing that. Roundup returns home Friday to host Harlem.
Grebe is still weighing his college options. He says he’ll visit both the Montana State Bobcats’ and Montana Grizzlies’ homecoming games in October, and make his decision after football season is over.
