The Lions drove 40 yards in eight plays to score the game-winning touchdown with 9:07 remaining. Elusive Bradley Sims slithered 13 yards through the heart of the Comanches’ defense to climax the drive and Kyle Janke added his third extra point.
Granger (12-1), in the state semifinals for the first time since it won the Class A state title in 1997, will play top-ranked Alto (12-0) - a one-sided victor over Joaquin (10-3) in the Region III title game - next Friday at Sam Houston State’s Bowers Stadium in Huntsville.
The Lions drove to the Shiner 1-yard line in the final two minutes, but Granger quarterback Kenny Sufuentes took a knee on three consecutive plays as time expired.
On what proved to be the winning drive, the key play was a 12-yard, fourth-down pass from Sifuentes to Chaston Kubacak that produced a first down on the Shiner 16.
“That pass from Sifuentes to Kubacak was big,” Granger coach Stacey Hunt said. “We got tremendous play from our offensive and defensive lines. Basically, we executed when we needed to.
“We had problems on kick coverage (two touchdowns allowed in the third quarter), but that’s something we’ll correct before we play Alto. Also, they were a little tougher between the tackles than we expected and we had to make some adjustments. I was very happy with the outcome.”
Stung by four lost fumbles and only having the ball for seven scrimmage plays in the second half - all in the fourth quarter - Shiner was held to six first downs and 187 yards, 178 on the ground.
Granger rolled up 24 first downs and 357 yards - 265 on the ground. Clay Mazoch carried 22 times for 128 yards and Sims added 120 on 26 attempts. Sifuentes completed eight of 16 passes for 92 yards.
With one second remaining in the first half, Sifuentes completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Brosch, who made an over-the-shoulder catch in the corner of the end zone, to give Granger a 21-14 lead.
The Lions took just 1:15 to cover the 65 yards for the score in seven plays, including a 20-yard run by Mazoch, a 21-yard pass to Brosch and a 6-yard fourth-down conversion pass from Sifuentes to Sims.
Prior to the final drive, Granger had trouble wrapping up Kyle Condel, who scored on runs of 59 and 66 yards, and Shiner couldn’t keep a handle on the football, losing three of five fumbles. Two of those fumbles set up Granger scoring drives and another - an 11-yard bad pitch - stalled a potential scoring drive.
Shiner scored on the third play of the game as Condel, facing a third-and-four, ran a keeper 59 yards up the gut for a TD with 10:46 left in the opening period.
A 27-yard fumble recovery and return by Jacob Isbell set up Granger’s first touchdown. Six plays later, Mazoch charged up the middle for 6 yards and the touchdown. The Lions’ attempt to run a reverse for the two-point conversion failed and Granger trailed 7-6 with five seconds left in the first quarter.
Granger finally took the lead with 2:12 to go in the half on a 24-yard run by Sims that was set up by his own recovery of another Shiner fumble two plays earlier. His conversion run put the Lions ahead 14-7.
The Lions, who had trouble minimizing Shiner’s kick returns in the first half, scored two plays later on Condel’s 66-yard option keeper and his extra point tied the game at 14 with 1:16 to go, setting the stage for Granger’s last-minute heroics.
Granger had 10 first downs and 168 yards in the first half, while Shiner had only four firsts and 162 yards - 112 rushing by Condel, who had two losses in addition to his pair of touchdowns.
Granger’s inability to cover kicks effectively reached near-terminal mass in the third period as Shiner scored twice without running an offensive play in the quarter. Franke scored on a 91-yard punt return and an 83-yard kickoff return. The two returns were sandwiched between the Lions’ 72-yard, 15-play drive that was climaxed by Sifuentes’ 1-yard plunge on third down with 54 seconds remaining in the period.
In fact, Shiner did not run its first scrimmage play of the second half until just 8:54 remained in the game and that drive ended after seven plays with another fumble.
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