Friday night was extremely meaningful for the town of Granger.
Not only was it the first game back in Granger since the town took a direct hit from a tornado this offseason, but the community also honored their 1997 State Championship team.
Granger now honoring its 1997 state championship team at the half. That team remains the only Granger football team to have won the state championship.#txhsfb @texashsfootball pic.twitter.com/hO8nK3j7YI
— Adam Ogburn (@aogburn00) September 10, 2022
With their town out supporting them in full force, the Lions rose to the occasion, pulling away from Holland in the fourth quarter for a 28-20 victory.
Granger head coach Stephen Brosch said he was almost speechless as he tried to describe the emotions of Friday night.
“To look up into the stands and see a packed house, nothing has changed since it [the tornado] happened,” Brosch said. “The togetherness that this community shows and what this school means to so many people, it showed itself tonight. I know delivering a victory for people who have stood behind us as we’ve stood behind each other the past several months through the rebuild process, it just speaks volumes.”
Fittingly, Granger running back DJ McClelland, whose house took a direct hit from the tornado, was the star of the night. McClelland finished with 231 yards on 17 carries. He scored both of his touchdowns on the night in the fourth quarter as the Lions begin to assert their will over the Hornets on the ground.
“DJ, the thing that’s special about him is on the field you saw what he does, but the type of kid that he is off the field is something that’s spectacular,” Brosch said. “I can’t say enough about him and the guys how they gravitate around him and just play hard.”
On the other side of the field, Holland receiver Trey Grinnan had a big night for the Hornets. He caught 11 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns on Friday.
Holland head coach Brad Talbert said his team has had some injury struggles, so he was glad to see Grinnan realize his potential on the night.
“We’ve been trying to get him ready,” Talbert said. “He’s finally knowing everything we’re doing and executing everything we’re doing.”
Holland was coming off a 313-yard rushing performance against Valley Mills, but its run game was stymied on the night by the Granger defense, which held it to just 89 rushing yards. Not only were the Hornets limited on the ground, but the Granger defense also forced three fumbles.
Brosch said his Granger team is built on defense, and he was proud to see the unit perform in a big way on Friday.
“Coming into this year, we talked about how defense was going to be the focus,” Brosch said. “We have some dudes that just have a knack for the football.”
It was the defense that created the first Granger points as Lion quarterback Nathan Tucker scored on a 10-yard run after a fumble recovery by Granger safety Evan Hutka.
Holland eventually answered in the second quarter as Desi Cantu connected with Grinnan on a 13-yard slant for a score. Cantu then kept the ball himself on the two-point conversion to give Holland an 8-6 lead that would hold up until halftime.
The Lions took advantage of another Holland fumble after halftime as Tucker scored his second rushing touchdown of the night on a three-yard scamper four-and-a-half minutes into the second half.
And a couple drives later, yet another Holland fumble set Granger up in Hornet territory. Yet again, the Lions cashed in with points as Jose Valverde nailed a 32-yard field goal to put the Lions up 15-8.
Holland responded on its next drive as it went 54 yards on 10 plays with Cantu finding Grinnan for a 15-yard score. However, the ensuing extra point sailed wide left and Granger held onto a one-point lead with nine minutes to go.
From there, McClelland took over. First, he singlehandedly carried the Lions down the field, rushing four times for 70 yards as he scored on a nine-yard touchdown to put Granger up by nine. On their next drive, he broke free down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown that helped ice the game, extending the Lion lead to 28-14.
Talbert said that even though McClelland will get the headlines, the whole Granger team helped put the game away late on.
“It was the whole Granger team,” Talbert said. “The offensive line, the coaching staff, the whole Granger team did a great job.”
Holland did get a late score as Cantu kept it himself for a two-yard touchdown with under a minute to go, but Granger recovered the onside kick to secure an eight-point victory.
The onside kick goes out of bounds and Granger runs the clock out to improve to 2-1.
Granger 28-20 Holland Final#txhsfb @texashsfootball pic.twitter.com/5SdLmx8xUF
— Adam Ogburn (@aogburn00) September 10, 2022
Now 1-2 on the year, the Hornets will take on 3-0 Bremond next. Talbert said his team better be ready.
“We got Bremond,” Talbert said. “It gets harder than this. We just got to go to work.”
Meanwhile, the Lions will take on another 2A Division I team as they travel to Goldthwaite next week. Brosch said he is excited to see the progress his team is making week in and week out.
“We’re developing offensively and we’re continuing to improve,” Brosch said. “We haven’t played very well, but we’re playing good enough defensively to keep us in games. And our offense, once it hits, this is going to be a special group if we can stay healthy.”
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