Granger Lions look to ice Iola
GRANGER — The bye week is over for the Granger High School varsity football team as the Lions celebrate Homecoming this week. Following this week’s festivities, the Lions will host Iola High School at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 for the 2A-2 District 13 opener between both teams.
Granger and Iola will enter this game each with 4-1 overall records. While the Lions are stacking together wins this season as anticipated, the visiting Bulldogs have been a bit of a surprise in 2023 as they have already doubled their win total from the previous season. The Granger offense has done a lot of damage to opposing defenses this season with so many different players being able to effectively run the football. Senior quarterback Chase Edwards, who has thrown for 743 yards and eight touchdown passes through five games, has also been able to run with 264 yards and five touchdowns.
Lions sophomore running back Caleb Hobratsch, who got off to a stellar start to the 2023 season with 236 yards rushing and a whopping six touchdowns on the ground, suffered a seasonending leg injury in the first half of Granger’s 24-21 loss at Holland High School. However, his teammates have been able to step up for him running the ball as senior running back Jayven Diaz has 203 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 26 carries and sophomore running back Joseph Sifuentes has 156 yards and three scores on 29 carries.
Hobratsch’s presence is also missed on defense as he was a great linebacker who had 20 tackles through just two-and-a-half games before his unfortunate injury. Fellow sophomore linebacker Stephen Rogers has risen to the occasion with a team-high 37 tackles, Edwards is also all over the field with 35 tackles and the Granger team defense has intercepted opposing quarterbacks seven times in just five games.
Granger High School varsity football senior cornerback Trae Herrera drops into defensive coverage on Sept. 8 during the Lions’ road game at Holland High School. Photo by Andrew Salmi
