The Lions made sure history didn’t repeat itself.
Led by a rushing juggernaut and a suffocating defense, Class A’s No. 7–ranked Granger dismantled Thorndale 53–0 at Bulldog Stadium to clinch the District 27–A championship.
“It feels great,” Lions coach Stacey Hunt said. “The kids worked hard. They deserve it. They put a lot of time and effort into it.”
Added Thorndale coach Todd Doughty on whether this was the best Granger team he has faced: “By far the best they’ve had since I’ve been here. I give coach Hunt and his staff a lot of credit. They have a good group of kids and they’re maximizing them right now.”
Granger improved to 8–1, 4–0 in the district and hosts Burton next week. Thorndale fell to 6–4, 4–2 in district, and has also earned a playoff berth.
The Lions made the Bulldogs pay for their early mistakes.
After a poor snap resulted in a negative 8–yard punt, quarterback Kenny Sifuentes scored on an inside keeper from 25 yards out for a 7–0 lead.
On Thorndale’s next offensive play, Granger’s Clay Mazoch recovered a fumble at the Bulldogs’ 15.
Aided by blocks from Stephen Brosch and Geremy Steglich, Bradley Sims carried the ball to the 1 and scored two plays later for a 14–0 lead.
With Granger starting at its own 8, Mazoch hurdled a defender to pick up a key first down. The Lions then recorded four consecutive first downs, capped by Sims’ 30–yard touchdown run for a 21–0 lead.
“We did some things that are not traditional (for us), like turning the ball over,” Doughty said. “I don’t know if we’ve had seven turnovers all season and we had three tonight.”
Mazoch scored with a minute remaining from 10 yards out for a 28–0 lead at halftime. The senior back went over the 1,000–yard plateau earlier in the quarter and finished with 156 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns.
His backfield partner Sims went over the 1,000–yard plateau in the third quarter and finished with 154 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.
Both backs benefited from the Lions’ excellent execution on an inside trap play that helped Granger rack up 388 rushing yards.
“They were slanting a lot and were shading the nose guard a little, guessing one way or the other,” Hunt said. “Finally, we got a tendency to which way he was going to shade, and we ran the trap the other way and had a lot of success.”
The Lions’ defense blanketed Thorndale’s backs throughout the game, holding the Bulldogs to 70 total yards and two first downs.
“Our kids came out with a lot of intensity,” Hunt said. “And a lot of people were saying that our defense wasn’t as good as Thorndale’s defense, and I think that inspired them and fired them up. They came out to prove that we can play defense and they did tonight.”
Thorndale’s defense had allowed just 37 points in its five district games, but were torched for 53 points and 421 total yards by the Lions. Granger posted its third consecutive shutout and fifth of the season in winning its first district championship since 1997.
“We’re district champs no matter what happens next week,” Hunt said. “The kids worked their butts off and they deserve it. I give them all the credit."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
