Battle for Lions starting quarterback continues

Trying to guess who will start at quarterback in Thursday night’s scrimmage against Bastrop or, for that matter, in the non-district home opener against Victoria West?
Give up.
Give up now.
Lockhart Head Coach Todd Moebes said he and his staff are continuing their evaluations at quarterback, where the starting competition has narrowed itself down to two candidates: senior Dylan Evans and sophomore Ashton Dickens, who started on last year’s freshman team.
Each showed flashes of excellence at the spring intrasquad scrimmage, leading their respective groups to touchdowns and proving able to take advantage of senior standout receiver Tay Andrews, whom Moebes said has emerged as a leader over the summer.
But he’s still not ready to name who will take the first snap on Aug. 27, when the season officially gets underway against Victoria West.
“Both of these guys are competing for the starting position, and we’ve seen them grow in practice and make progress in fall camp,” Moebes said. “We’re certainly seeing them both get better.”
Both bring good things to the field, Moebes said, but both are still developing.
But, with a little more than a week until the first game, is it too soon to say who gives the team the better chance to win as the starting signal caller?
“I think so,” Moebes said. “Dylan has the experience starting a game for us last year, and this is Ashton’s first season as a varsity quarterback. They’re different types of quarterbacks.
“Both of them are new and have to improve their timing. Both have the ability to throw the football, and both of them have the ability to escape the pocket. They can both make some plays with their feet, which is always a good thing to have.”
Moebes said he was not focused on big plays in practice. He’s focused on fine tuning the details and getting the team tuned up and playing together.
“We’re continuing to work offensively and defensively,” he said. “It’s just getting them to play at a faster speed and tempo. The offense’s timing is going to need to improve.”
Barring any COVID-related obstacles, Lockhart will get a chance to play a full campaign, something that didn’t happen last year. The Lions followed a playoff-qualifying season in Moebes’ first season with a winless COVID-shortened campaign in 2020, losing six games by 14 points or less against stiff competition.
The Lions have at least one more year left in their current alignment, which has been tough. Lockhart finished 5-5 overall in 2018 and 6-4 in 2019 before last season’s 0-8 record. Alignments are up for review in February 2022.
“Every game is going to be a war,” Moebes said. “We’re going to have to bring our best game out there no matter who we are playing.”