The Wolverines opened their season at home against Athens Academy on Friday, August 19. The Spartans got off to a hot start in the first half due to a couple of Wolverine turnovers. Walker turned it around in the second half, but it was not enough as they fell to Athens Academy 23-8.

    The Wolverine offense had a tough time getting going in the first half, and the struggle continued in the second half when junior quarterback Joseph Vose (#13) went down with an apparent knee injury. Vose is currently awaiting MRI results.

    A bolt of energy came when backup quarterback senior Brigham Strother (#18) came in for the Wolverines, leading them on a long drive and finishing it out with a rushing touchdown, cutting the lead to 23-8. But that was as close as the Wolverines would get. Senior wide receiver, J.T.  Reichenbach, led the Wolverines in receiving with five catches for 137 yards.

    The defense was led by seniors Connor Coolbroth (#28) and Ryan Louis (#17), who had nine combined tackles. Louis also added two sacks in his first game back since his freshman year. When asked what it was like to be back on the field and be able to come back with a good performance, Louis said,“It was something I have thought about before and what made it even better was that it was my debut back on the field.” Turnovers were costly for the Wolverines and put the defense in difficult situations. 

    Walker has a bye week this week and looks to bounce back from this loss on September 2 at 4:30 at Mount Vernon.

By Jack Jones and David Kahn