VON ORMY — The Granger High School varsity football team continued its playoff push Thursday, Nov. 16 as the Lions handled business with a dominant 27-0 victory over the Tigers of Brackett High School to capture a 2A-2 area championship at neutral site Southwest Legacy High School.
For most of the first half, this game was a defensive slugfest. The Granger offense had a nice drive on its opening possession in the first quarter but fumbled the ball away to Brackett inside the Tigers’ 10-yard line.
The Lions’ defense continued to do its thing in the opening quarter and gave the offense an opportunity when called upon. After Granger senior quarterback Chase Edwards was able to get the Lions into Brackett territory, junior Jose Valverde nailed a 41-yard field goal straight through the uprights as time expired in the first quarter to give Granger a 3-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Granger senior Isaac Lizardo returned a punt for a long gain into Tigers’ territory to put the Lions in good field position. After the Lions’ offense drove into the red zone, Granger was thwarted again from points as a diving interception by a Brackett defender turned the Lions away.
The Lions’ offense finally got going midway through the second quarter after Edwards connected on a 34-yard pass down the sideline to senior wide receiver Lucas Matta. A few plays later, Edwards called his own number and scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown to give Granger a 10-0 lead over Brackett with 4:25 left in the second quarter.
Granger’s defense continued to stifle Brackett and put the Tigers into yet another punt situation following a sack by Lions senior defensive lineman Michael Selucky. The Lions would then get the ball back on offense, have Edwards and the running game drive downfield and cap off the drive with a 35-yard field goal by Valverde to increase the lead to 13-0 at halftime. Following some powerful runs by senior running back Jayven Diaz to get the Lions into the red zone, Granger capped off another scoring drive early in the third quarter. On thirdand- long, Edwards made a sensational play to avoid the Brackett pass rush and made a perfect throw on the run to Lizardo, who kept his feet inbounds for an eight-yard touchdown catch and 20-0 lead for the Lions.
Granger got one more insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter on a wacky play. After a Lion run on offense to get inside the Brackett fiveyard five, the ball was fumbled and it bounced into the endzone but sophomore offensive lineman Chase Selucky was in the right place at the right time and pounced on the fumble for a touchdown to extend the Granger lead to 27-0.
Brackett entered the night with a dominant up-tempo rushing attack throughout the 2023 season led by Tigers junior standout running back Kontagious Cook, who rushed for 1,833 yards on 189 carries for 22 touchdowns on the ground in 11 games. Granger stuffed the potent Brackett offense as the Tigers were held to just 89 total yards on 43 plays and three first downs.
Granger improved to 10-2 overall on the season with the victory over Brackett and advanced to the 2A-2 regional semifinals to play either Chilton High School or Agua Dulce High School next Friday night.
Granger High School varsity football sophomore linebacker Stephen Rogers (8) stops an opposing ball carrier in his tracks Thursday, Nov. 16 during the Lions’ 27-0 victory over Brackett High School. Photo by Andrew Salmi
