Jimmy Henson’s team might have suffered a heartbreaking loss on Friday night at Grand Valley Stadium, but Henson didn’t walk away empty handed.

The 1987 Grand Valley graduate was one of six former Mustangs inducted into the Grand Valley Hall of Fame before the game.

Henson eared three varsity letters in football and was named to the as a member of the All-County and All-Conference first teams in 1985 and 1986.

Henson was also a three-time letter winner in basketball and a four-time letter winner in track.

Joining Henson as a member of the 2008 Class were: Tom Schamberg, who coached four high school sports and three middle school sports; Bill Kemmer, a member of the Class of 1965 and the first quarterback in Grand Valley history; Nathan Paskey, who graduated in 1980 and was a three-year letter winner in baseball, basketball and football; Jessica Sommers Kassay, a 1984 grad who earned four softball letters and three volleyball letters, setting a school record for scoring 28 points in a single match; Brian Turner, a four-year baseball letter winner who earned all-conference and Star Beacon All-Ashtabula County first-team honors all four years before getting drafted by the New York Yankees.

Sharp eyes

It’s something that won’t show up in the box score, and that could easily have been forgotten about in the drama that played out during the Jefferson-Grand Valley game.

But that drama may have never happened had it not been for the sharp eyes of kicker Logan Nye.

Following Grand Valley’s first score of the second half, one Mustang player, in the excitement, forgot to come onto the field for kick coverage.

But right before letting loose with his leg, Nye did a quick count of his players and found one missing. With Grand Valley having a history of struggling on kick coverage, it may have made all the difference in the world. Jefferson returned the kickoff to its own 40 as it was. One player short, who knows, it might have turned into six.

A star is born

One of the definite stars for Lakeside in its opening game was junior kicker Adam Flaugher, who made his first varsity football start for the Dragons in their 31-7 loss to Howland after his referral to the football squad from the Lakeside soccer team.

Flaugher had a terrific night as a punter, averaging 40 yards on seven attempts. His first three punts averaged 44 yards. His last punt in the fourth quarter was his best of the night, a 48-yard effort.