GRANGER — The Granger Lions opened their 2025 season with a 49-33 win over Johnson City on Friday, Aug. 29, at Granger High School, avenging last year’s loss to the Eagles.
Senior running back Caleb Hobratsch powered the Lions with more than 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
Though he had a fumble and a dropped screen pass early, Hobratsch rebounded in the second half to help seal the victory.
“He is an animal,” head coach Gaston McDorman said. “He had a mistake when he put the ball on the ground, but came back and told me, ‘Coach, that was my fault. Keep giving it to me.’ We did, and he was really able to ice the game for us.”
Granger (1-0) struggled with miscues in the first half, including muffed punts and long kickoff returns that gave Johnson City (0-1) strong field position. McDorman credited the issues to inexperience on special teams.
“We’re breaking in a new guy who had never kicked before, so there are going to be some ups and downs until he gets confidence,” McDorman said. “Same with our kickoff coverage — we’ll get it fixed.”
The Lions still managed to lead 15-12 at halftime behind a 30-yard touchdown run from senior running back Dayton Knappa.
In the second half, senior quarterback Wyatt Rochner found senior wideout Kael Jackson for a touchdown before adding a 10-yard scoring run of his own to extend the lead to 29-12. After the Eagles responded with a kickoff return touchdown to make it 29-19, the teams traded scores until late in the third quarter when Granger pulled away.
Hobratsch closed the door with two fourthquarter touchdowns — a 20-yard run and a 1-yard plunge — to push the lead to 49-26. Johnson City added a late touchdown to cut the final margin to 49-33.
McDorman praised his team’s ability to regroup after a shaky start.
“We talked at halftime — it was a twopoint game, and a lot of it was self-inflicted,” McDorman said. “In the second half it was good. We faced some adversity, and then overcame it.”
Granger will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. versus Thorndale at Granger High School.
