Aug 30, 2008 By Eric Herter For The 3 min read

YORK RUN – Grayling Sanders’ debut for Albert Gallatin made football coach Bill Elias’ first game quite easy. Sanders, a fleet-footed tailback with a hairstyle that would make a mop jealous, scored the first three touchdowns Friday night and totaled 116 yards of offense in the Colonials’ 34-6 victory over Wilkinsburg.

“(Sanders) did very well, he did an excellent job,” Elias said. “We needed this win to mentally help us out. These kids have worked so hard for so long and haven’t been rewarded with wins.”

With the victory, the Colonials (1-0) match last season’s win total and Sanders and the rest of the team were talking about a new era at AG.

“It’s a new AG,” Sanders said. “We are trying to change the attitude around here and hopefully this can help.”

If Sanders and the rest of the Colonials offense keeps running like they did on Friday, that change could come sooner rather than later.

The Colonials finished with 258 yards of total offense led by 81 yards rushing from Sanders and 74 yards on the ground from Jeremiah Karpency.

It was Sanders, though, that got things started for the Colonials as he scored on their second possessions of the evening.

After Mike King returned a punt to the Tigers’ 45-yard-line, it took just one play for Sanders to score. He added a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 27-yard touchdown reception as time expired before halftime from quarterback Cody Peebles.

And while the Colonials’ offense started out strong, the defense played even better.

The Tigers didn’t gain a first down until there were 46 seconds left in the first half and Wilkinsburg finished with just 82 yards offense in the game.

“We had a couple of mistakes and their size and numbers really started to take their toll on us,” Wilkinsburg coach Cliff Simon said.

Sanders added a touchdown saving tackle on the second half’s opening kickoff and an interception on the Tiger’s first drive before his night was over.

“(Sanders) is a nice player,” Simon said. “He’s small and is hard to see behind some of those big guys.”

Elias said he is excited about the combination of Sanders’ speed with Karpency’s physical running.

“They compliment each other well and the line blocked really well,” Elias said. “The biggest thing for me was that we won and we really needed that.

“When teams know how to win, they find ways to win. In the past, this team always found ways to lose – now we need to find ways to win.”

The Colonials look to continue their winning ways next week when they travel to Ringgold for a 7:30 p.m. contest.