The Times 2022 Football Player of the Year: Seneca’s Nathan Grant

Any football coach will tell you that a key to a team having a successful season depends on the players excelling in their roles and working together.

That was the case this fall for Seneca. The Fighting Irish used their deceptive power-T offensive attack along with a solid defense to finish a record-setting season 10-1, with a Vermilion Valley Football Alliance North Division Championship and with the program’s first playoff victory since 2013.

One player that was extremely good at his role was junior quarterback/linebacker Nathan Grant.

Grant ended the season leading the Fighting Irish with 108 carries for 943 yards and 12 touchdowns, while completing 19 of 36 passes for 417 yards and eight TDs. On defense, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder was credited with 35 tackles, 17 solo, 2 1/2 for loss and 6 fumble recoveries. He also punted nine times for a 34.9 average.

For all of his accomplishments and leadership Grant has been named The Times Football Player of the Year.

The three-year signal caller says his role was pretty simple.

“Call the right play, give the ball to the right guy and then sellout a fake,” Grant said. “We have hand signals for the plays, so it’s on me to make sure we are running the play that [Seneca] Coach [Terry] Maxwell calls. Even though we are pretty much a running team, I get excited when coach signals for the play ‘Michigan’, that’s our play-action pass play.

“We all worked together so well this season. Our backfield and offensive line were really good and worked really hard all season. To be honest, the way they played made my job really easy.”

Grant, who was a Vermilion Valley All-Conference First Team selection at both quarterback and defensive back, had solid outings against Westville (12 carries, 119 yards), Goergetown-Ridge Fram/Chrisman (2-103-2 TDs) and Iroquois West (14-135-3), but saved his best for Seneca’s Class 3A first-round playoff game against Winnebago. In that game, Grant rushed 17 times for 215 yards and a score to help his team secure a 48-20 triumph.

“The game against Winnebago was my favorite game this year, but if I had a chance to relive a game from the season it would probably be our game against Catlin Salt Fork,” Grant said of the 37-35 win. “The atmosphere was amazing there that day. We ended up recovering two onside kicks in the fourth quarter and ended up winning on a last second field goal.”

As a team Seneca rushed for 3,745 yards, with five players with at least 360 yards on the ground and scored a program-record 349 regular-season points. Defensively the Fighting Irish had a string of four consecutive shutouts.

“He just has a nose for the ball, and he plays downhill,” Maxwell said. “With the offense we run everyone has to do their job every single play, but Nathan really makes everything go for us. He has great hands, makes great fakes and because he is such a great athlete opponents have to key on him which in turn opens up opportunities for other guys.”

Maxwell said one play from the season stood out more than any other that showed Grant’s incredible abilities on the football field.

“It’s a play that I think everyone – players, coaches, or fans – would say was at the top of the list,” Maxwell said. “Nathan is also our punter and we’re playing down at Westville. We had a two-point lead late and they had us backed up deep in our own territory. The snap went over his head, Nathan runs back into the back of the end zone and picks the ball up about a foot from the end line. He turns around and there are three guys right there, but somehow, he jukes them, then cuts across the grain, gets a couple of blocks and all of a sudden, we have the ball near midfield, first down, and were able to run out the clock.

“It was one the greatest athletic plays I’ve ever seen and probably one of the most game-changing plays I’ve seen. It was truly amazing to watch.”

So how would Grant grade his season?

“I would probably give myself a B-, I had some rough games,” Grant said with a shake of the head. “The game at Westville I missed some of the game with cramps and my game against Clifton Central wasn’t too good, I fumbled the ball way too many times.”

So, what does his coach think of that assessment?

“What he failed to say was that the Clifton Central game was also played in a monsoon, and nobody was hanging on to the ball that day,” Maxwell said with a smile.

“For the season, I give him A+, no doubt about it. Nathan was really, really good, especially when we needed him to be.”