Shiner handles Granger challenge 43-23 in regional semis
Thursday, December 5, 2024
by Gazette News Staff
Shiner Gazette Sports Article | Game Statistics | Shiner Football | Shiner Comanche Sports
SMITHVILLE - Not since a mid-October game against district opponent Falls City has Shiner been involved in a challenging or close game.
Shiner's Triston Vesely grabs ahold of Lion running back Caleb Hotbratsch during Shiner's 43-23 win over Granger in the regional semifinals on Friday. All photos by Mark Lube
[ click any photo to enlarge ]
On Friday night ( November 29, 2024 ) at Tiger Field in the 2ADII regional semifinals against Granger, the Comanches were challenged by both the Lions and the Shiner coaches.
Ahead 20-15 at halftime, the Comanches got a trio of key second-half turnovers, limited the Lions offense and outscored them 23-8 for a 43-23 win.
"It's good to get a win like this because we are getting deeper in the playoffs and will play better teams; the games are going to be good from here on out, and it's good to get a challenge now," quarterback-defense back Carson Schuette said.
"We challenged the players to play more physical in the second half and they answered the call," Shiner head coach Daniel Boedeker said.
The win gets Shiner into the regional final for the first time since 2022 and the fourth time in five seasons.
With any team's season concluding with a single loss in the playoffs, every team will play tougher and harder.
"In the playoffs, all of the games you play can be challenging," Boedeker said. "You play teams that have their seasons on the line and you have to put your best foot forward. We had some adversity tonight, had some penalties that hurt us."
The Lions, down by five, took the third-quarter kickoff to their 21-yard line. Quarterback Wyatt Rochner hit receiver Jo Sifuentes for a short gain of 4 before Sifuentes was tackled and fumbled the ball, setting up the Comanches at the 25. Quincy Jones had a 13-yard run and Lehnert followed up with a 4-yard gain. A holding call moved Shiner back to the 18 and two plays later, Schuette scored on a 14-yard run. He hit Kye Adamek for a two-point conversion to give Shiner a 28-15 lead with 9:46 left in the third.
Using three carries for 16 yards, all by running back Caleb Hobrastsch, and an 11-yard pass, Granger reached the Shiner 46 before Schuette intercepted Rochner to give the Comanches the ball at their 38. Jones took a toss from Schuette, followed behind some blocks and raced 62 yards for a touchdown. He also converted the two-point run on the ground for a 36-15 Shiner lead.
Granger had far more success on their next offensive possession, moving all the way down inside the Comanche 15, helped out by a roughing-the-passer call on Shiner. The Lions faced a 4th-and-2 at the Shiner 13 and the Shiner defense brought Rochner down on a quarterback keeper at the 13, well shy of a first down.
The Comanches went three and out, and had a short 20-yard punt to their own 36.
The Lions moved the ball all the way to the Comanche 6 before losing another fumble around the 8.
Lehnert went 13 yards on the ground to the 21. The Comanches kept the ball on the ground, burned over six minutes off the clock before capping the drive with a 9-yard run by Caleb Cowan and extra point by Jacob Nerada for a 43-15 lead with 2:55 left in the game.
Comanche running back Clayton Fric breaks into some open space in the second quarter Friday against Granger in Smithville.
"The turnovers (we got) were huge," Boedeker said. "We talked about them being the difference in the ball game. Credit to our defense for forcing them and for the offense taking the ball after the turnovers and scoring."
Granger got a late consolation score on a 57-yard pass from Rochner to Jett Jolly and a two-point pass from Rochner to Tre Castillo to trail 43-23.
Shiner opened the game with a seven-play, 67-yard drive: Lehnert had a 27-yard run on the fifth play and Schuette hit Jarvis Williams for a 28-yard scoring pass for a 6-0 lead.
The Lions answered immediately with a Hobratsch making way through the inside for a 76-yard touchdown run and the two-point play was good, giving Granger an 8-6 lead with 8:16 left in the first.
After forcing a punt, the Lions got down to the Shiner 25 but failed on fourth down. Cowan ran twice to total 34 yards and Schuette capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Boe Boehm his second of the game for a 12-8 lead after the two-point pass failed.
Granger punted but then their defense recovered a Shiner fumble at the Comanche 35 and Hotbratsch scored a 5-yard run for a 15-12 lead (after the PAT) at the 1:42 mark of the second quarter.
Shiner took the lead for good with 49 seconds left in the first half on a 46-yard run by Schuette and a two-play run by Lehnert.
Schuette led the Shiner offense as he ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns while going 3-for-4 for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
Jones led Shiner rushing with 119 yards and one touchdown.
Hotbratsch led the Lions with 33 rushes for 168 yards and two scores while Rochner was 10-of-15 for 139 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Jolly had three catches for 77 yards and one score.
GAME STATISTICSShiner 43, Granger 23 Class 2A, Division 2, Regionial Playoff Game Friday, November 29, 2024, 7:00 p.m. Tiger Stadium, Smithville SCORING SUMMARY 1 2 3 4 F Granger 8 7 7 8 -- 23 Shiner 6 14 16 7 -- 43 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter S - Jarvis Williams 28 pass from Carson Schuette (run failed), 9:09 1Q. G - Caleb Hobratsch 76 run (Ryder Brice pass from Jo Sifuentes), 8:16 1Q. Second Quarter S - Boe Boehm 25 pass from Schuette (pass failed), 6:53 2Q. G - Hobratsch 5 run (Ramon Belmontes kick), 1:42 2Q. G - Schuette 46 run (Caleb Lehnert run), 0:49 2Q. Third Quarter S - Schuette 14 run (Kye Adamek pass from Schuette), 9:46 3Q. S - Quincy Jones 62 run (Jones run), 7:34 3Q. Fourth Quarter S - Caleb Cowan 9 run (Jacob Nerada kick), 2:55 4Q. G - Jett Jolly 57 pass from Wyatt Rochner (Tre Castillo pass from Rochner), 1:00 4Q. TEAM STATISTICS: Granger Shiner First downs 15 19 Rushes-yards 43-181 38-374 Passing yards 139 52 Passes 10-14-1 3-4 Total plays-yards 57-320 42-426 Possession time 26:31 20:21 Penalties-yards 4-22 6-50 Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1 Punts-aver 1-33.0 2-22.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing G: Caleb Hobratsch 33-168, Dayton Knippa 4-10, Wyatt Rochner 6-3. S: Quincy Jones 12-119, Caleb Lehnert 7-75, Carson Schuette 6-75, Caleb Cowan 5-53, Clayton Fric 4-28, Triston Vesely 2-13, Tyler Harvey 2-11. Passing G: Rochner 10-14-1-139. S: Schuette 3-4-0-52. Receiving G: Jett Jolly 3-77, Tre Castillo 2-28, Ryder Brice 2-20, Hobratsch 2-10, Jo Sifuentes 1-4. S: Jarvis Williams 1-28, Boe Boehm 1-25, Kye Adamek 1-(-1).
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Mark Lube is the sports editor for the Shiner Gazette.
Contact him at 361-594-3346 or mark.lube@lavacacountytoday.com |
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