GRANGER – The roar of the Lions could be heard all throughout Granger, as the Granger Lions looked dominant in their 57-8 win over the Hubbard Jaguars Friday night.
“Tonight was something we can build on,” Lions head coach Stephen Brosch said.
The Lions had many questions about what the offense would look like after losing a player like D.J. McClelland, and all of those questions were answered within the first quarter.
“With the guys that we lost, including D.J., we have been asking our upperclassmen to step up and help out from a leadership role,” Brosch said.
“They have done exactly that, and they are really giving a good example for our underclassmen, and that’s awesome to see early in the season.”
When it came to who was going to step into Nate Tucker’s old spot under center, Brosch looked to one player in particular.
The Lions put the ball in the hands of Chase Edwards as he assumed the quarterback position for the first time since he was in eighth grade. Edwards was calm, cool and collected as the Lions had a healthy mix of passing and running plays to start the game to keep the Jaguars’ defense guessing.
“That was the first time he (Edwards) has played quarterback since he was in the eighth grade, and he stepped up in a big way for us,” Brosch said.
It paid off as the Lions jumped out to an early lead to start the game, which has Brosch’s message to his team all off-season.
“We preached all through two-adays and all through the spring, 7-on-7 stuff and into the summer that we wanted to have a fast start, and I think we were able to do that and capitalize on that tonight,” Brosch said.
Defensively, the Lions only allowed eight points with a lot of big plays coming from the young guys on the team. On both the offensive and defensive line, the Lions had several sophomores step up to make plays.
“Playing sophomores in some pivotal points and key positions this year was going to key for us, and in the coaching world relying on that youth can present some problems for you, but for us we are just super impressed,” Brosch said.
Sophomores Caleb Hobratsch and Chase Selucky were some players Brosch highlighted postgame for their contributions on both sides of the ball. But Brosch could not say enough good things about every underclassman that played in Friday’s game.
“This is good for us because we know these guys can continue to build on their game and be the future of our program,” Brosch said. “That is what we want to see from these young guys, and they are accepting the challenge of varsity very well.” page 6
With the first win of the season under their belt, Brosch and the Lions will keep the mindset of being 1-0 after every week as they look forward to their next game against rival Thorndale on the road Friday, Sept. 1.
