OCEAN CITY -- Several members of the Patriots roster showcased what they are capable of as Germantown Academy (1-0) rolled to a 50-28 victory over Simon Gratz in the season opener for both teams at Carey Stadium in Ocean City, NJ on Sept. 1. Wide receivers AJ Towsen '25 and George Arendt '25 each caught two touchdowns and Xavier Stearn '26 completed 75 percent of his passes to lead the Patriots over the Bulldawgs.
 
GA found themselves in a shootout in the opening half. After Jared Smith '24 got the Patriots a field goal on their first possession, Simon Gratz went ahead with a touchdown, but missed the extra point. Towsen scored his first touchdown of the day with :33 left in the first quarter, but the lead was short-lived as Gratz returned the ensuing kickoff for a score to lead 12-10 after one quarter. Another Towsen touchdown, as well as a score from running back Anthony Lara '24, bookended a touchdown by Simon Gratz and made the contest 26-20 at halftime in favor of GA.

"We made some mistakes early on, mistakes that we'll get cleaned up" Head Coach Matt Dence said. "It's good when you can make those mistakes and still win a game. Offensively, we have some talent and if we protect the quarterback, he can be a special player. We have a good run game, good receivers, and our line will get better as the season goes on."

The Patriots opened the second half by scoring on defense, with Michael McKee '26 recording a safety halfway through the third quarter. They added to the total with an Arendt touchdown about two minutes later. Timmy Ginter '26 recovered a fumble to give GA another possession, which was capped by Stearn finding Arendt for another touchdown. Lara closed out the scoring for GA, while Simon Gratz closed the game with a touchdown with six minutes remaining in the game.

"There are a lot of guys playing their first snaps of varsity football," Dence said. "They were amped up and you saw some of that today early on. I think we settled in and started making more plays in the second half."

Germantown Academy stays on the road for its next contest, a matchup against Hill School at 7pm on Sept. 8. The Patriots are 2-0 against Hill the past two seasons, including a 28-21 win at home a season ago.