Freshmen Maroon tumble Del Valle for District title

On Thursday evening, the Lockhart Freshmen Maroon team traveled to Del Valle for their final contest of the year. The Lions proved to be too much for the Cardinals. The Maroon were able to post a 28-14 victory to capture the District 26-AAAA title. The Lions end their season at 8-2 and 6-1 in district play.
After stopping a talented Cardinal team on their first posses

sion, the Lions put together a 12-play, 64-yard scoring drive with Dominique Hardaway posting the touchdown on a 22-yard scamper. Brian Martinez tacked on the two-point try to give the Lions a brief 8-0 lead.
The Cardinals scored on their next possession on a 56-yard scoring strike. The Lions stopped the two-point conversion to hang on to a slim 8-6 lead.
The Lions threatened again on their next possession. The Maroon drove the ball to the Cardinal two yard line. Del Valle took advantage of a bad quarterback-running back exchange and recovered the football at their own 1-yard line. On the next play, the Cardinals” quarterback connected with a team mate on a 99-yard scoring strike. The try for two was good giving Del Valle a 14-8 advantage.
As has been the case throughout the year, the Lion offensive line of Ryan Houston, Kevin Rodriguez, Dion Turner, Blake Fehr, Sam Yanez, Tim Herrera, Will Rodriguez, Jordan Officer and Lee Brummett began to dominate the line of scrimmage. The Lions put together another time-consuming drive to knot the score at 14-14 on a 7-yard rumble by Martinez. The try for two failed.
The final seconds of the first half proved to be a defining moment for the Maroon defense. Tyler Tolley managed to race down a Cardinal speedster at the 4-yard line after the runner broke free on a 46-yard run. With only six seconds left in the half, Sam Yanez came up with the “hit of the night” as he stopped the Del Valle runner near the goal line as time expired. The two teams went into intermission tied at 14.
The Lions took the lead for good on a short run by Martinez just before the third period ended to take a 20-14 lead. The two-point extra point try was good raising the score to 22-14.
The nail in the coffin came as Robert Castaneda blocked a Del Valle punt and recovered the loose ball in the endzone to make the score 28-14.
In the B Team game, the Lions fell short 12-0 to finish the season at 4-4.
Awards for the Del Valle contests went to:
Offensive MVPs: Brian Martinez and Dylan Messerly;
Defensive MVPs: Sam Yanez and Joshua Martinez;
Lion Kings: Maroon Offensive Line and Jose Aguillon;
Impact Players of the Game: Kenny Brite and Tyler Tolley; and
Special Teams MVPs: Robert Castaneda and Will Robinson.