Sifuentes picked off two Thrall passes and made a highlight-reel touchdown run before halftime as Granger knocked off the Tigers 27-10 Friday night at Lions Stadium.
Facing second-and-10 from the Lions’ 47-yard line, Sifuentes started to run the option left until several defenders closed in around him. Realizing the play would be shut down, he reversed his field, made a few would-be-tacklers miss and raced down the right sideline for a 53-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left before halftime to give the Lions a 27-3 lead.
“I looked to the right and I saw a big open hole so I just cut back,” Sifuentes said. “When I got near the end zone, I hit another gear.”
Added Granger coach Stacey Hunt: “Just a good athlete making a play. It was huge going in. It gave us a little momentum and really broke their back and got their heads hanging down.”
Granger running back Bradley Sims got the Lions off and running in the first quarter.
After Sims’ interception return for a touchdown was negated because of a penalty, the senior took a pitch and rumbled 38 yards to the 5. Three plays later, Clay Mazoch’s second-effort from the 1 gave Granger a 6-0 lead.
On the Lions’ next possession, Sifuentes connected with OJ Gonzalez on an 80-yard completion down to the 6. Sims scored from 4 yards out two plays later and Sifuentes added the two-point run for a 14-0 lead.
Needing to respond, Thrall gained just 3 yards on its next three plays and turned the ball over after mishandling the snap on the punt.
Mazoch took the handoff two plays later, ran over a defender at the 25 and scored on a 35-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead.
“That big offensive line keeps pounding and pounding on your kids, he keeps running and it makes them hard to stop,” Thrall coach Mark Sebek said.
Thrall used 16 plays and more than six minutes on its next drive.
Sifuentes broke up a pass on third down and the Tigers had to settle for a 40-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-3. With just 1:24 remaining in the first half, the Lions took over at the 24 and, behind the legs of Sifuentes, regained the momentum going into halftime.
Not to be forgotten is the job the Granger defense did on Thrall’s Tanner Newman. The Tigers’ senior quarterback was held to 30 yards rushing and three completions and 20 yards through the air.
“We read our keys and we played our responsibilities and we got better from last week,” Hunt said. “That’s one thing we were preaching to them is that we can score points but unless we learn to stop people, we’re not going to win championships. I think our kids really responded this week.”
The win helps Granger (5-1) avenge a 27-26 double-overtime loss a year ago to the Tigers (3-3) and more importantly puts the Lions alone in first place in District 27-A with a 2-0 record.
“It’s a great win over a district rival, but I told them its just another step toward meeting our goal, which is to win a state championship,” Hunt said. “Hopefully, we can keep taking steps forward and keep improving every week.”
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
GRANGER 27, THRALL 10
Thrall 0 3 0 7 - 10
Granger 6 21 0 0 - 27
Gra - Clay Mazoch 1 run (kick failed)
Gra - Bradley Sims 4 run (Kenny Sifuentes run)
Gra - Mazoch 35 run (Gabriel Vences kick)
Thr - Aaron Norris 40 field goal
Gra - Sifuentes 53 run (kick failed)
Thr - LeMar Williams 47 run (Norris kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Thr Gra
First downs 9 9
Rushes-yards 36-180 39-248
Passing yards 20 90
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-13-4 3-7-2
Punts-average 2-31 4-32
Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-21 9-70
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Thrall: Tanner Newman 15-30, Williams 12-102, Homer Jackson 6-43, Kyle Urbanek 3-5; Granger: Sims 15-89, Mazoch 14-92, Sifuentes 8-74, Brosch 1-(-5), team 1-(-2).
PASSING - Thrall: Newman 3-12-4-20, Brandon Beckermann 0-1-0-0; Granger: Sifuentes 3-7-2-90.
RECEIVING - Thrall: Urbanek 2-18, Jackson 1-2; Granger: OJ Gonzalez 1-80, Chaston Kubacak 1-8, Mazoch 1-2
