Lions drop brutal battle to Boerne-Champion

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

Plagued by offensive missteps and outgunned by an explosive opponent hungry for their first District win, the Lions fell 42-14 in a soggy, grueling road game at Boerne-Champion on Friday night.

The Lions started the night on their heels, as the Chargers scored within seconds, and recovered their own onside kick to take an early lead.

Champion went on to score 28 unanswered points in the first half, crushing every attempt the offense made to gain momentum, while evading the defensive line at almost every turn.

“The surprise onside kick was an early pivotal moment,” Head Coach Brian Herman said. “They did quite a few things new and differently than what we saw on film, and getting down that much, that early was hard to recover from.”

With 24 seconds left in the half, Daequan Ellison finally hit pay dirt, scrambling 20 yards to the end zone to finally put the Lions on the board. Although Lockhart drew a five-yard penalty for a false start on the point-after attempt, Juan Ocampo was unfazed, making a clean kick and closing scoring at the half with the Lions down 28-7.

After the break, the Lions made a strong start in the third, putting together a long, slow drive that finally allowed Ellison to stretch a hand across the goal line with 6:43 left in the quarter. Once again, Ocampo easily split the uprights, narrowing the gap to 28-14.

“Scoring 14 unanswered points going into and coming out of the half was a positive,” Herman said. “We were even in a scoring position to cut the lead down to seven; unfortunately, we did not convert on fourth down, and they answered with an 82-yard run for a touchdown.”

The Lion defense was stronger in the second half, successfully breaking up several Charger drives. At the same time, a hard two-man hit late in the third took Ellison, the Lions’ go-to running back, out of action for the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, the Chargers were able to log two more touchdowns in the second half, finally running out the clock on their final possession for a 42-14 win.

Despite the overall loss, the Lions did have bright moments on both sides of the ball, including stopping Charger drive on the 9-yard line before halftime to preserve the score, and several key tackles that helped mitigate the damage. Additionally, key starters were sidelined due to injury, allowing teammates to step up into their positions, while many players were on the field all night, playing both offense and defense.

“Depth has been one of our biggest concern from the beginning of the season,” Herman said. “Most teams will have deeper benches and more players suited up for action than we will. We have to find a way to compete regardless of the odds. We have to be tougher than everyone we play.

Still hunting for their first District win, the Lions, like the rest of District 26-5A, will have a bye week this week, before taking on the undefeated Dripping Springs Tigers on the road on Friday, Oct. 13. The Tigers (5-0, [2-0]) are ranked 19th in the state in 5A football.

Tiger Stadium is located at 111 Tiger Lane, in Dripping Springs, and kickoff is scheduled at 7:30 p.m.