Jaimes leads Lockhart in 21–19 loss to Southwest

By Anthony Collins

LPR Editor                           

Lockhart fought hard on Friday night but came up just short 2 points, falling to the Southwest Dragons, 21–19 in a tightly contested matchup. 

    Senior quarterback Noel Jaimes put on a standout performance, accounting for all three of the Lions’ touchdowns and keeping his team in the game until the final seconds. 

    The Lions were able to be the first to throw 7 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter with 6 minutes remaining. With a fumble recovery with only 23.4 seconds left remaining the Lions held the score to 7-0 heading into the second quarter. 

     The Lions came back out fighting and scored quickly bringing the gap to 13 points as the extra kick was missed. 

   The Lions would remain the only team with points on the board going into halftime. 

      Coming out of the locker room, the Dragons plowed down the field in a long hard run and finally put 7 up to bring the score to 13-7 with the Lions still leading. 

     The Lions answered back with Jaimes and freshman Demonte Anthony bringing a 62-yard connection in the third quarter.  Advancing the score to 19-7 with 6 minutes left in the quarter. 

    Not wanting to let the Lions get too much of a lead, the Dragons came back with another touchdown and extra kick to add 7 more to the now 19-14 score. 

     Heading into the last quarter the Lions and Dragons fought long and hard until with 7 minutes to go, the Dragons scored bringing the score to a 19-21 lead for the Dragons. With only 2 minutes remaining the Lions had one more shot to score a touchdown to take the lead but they came up short unfortunately. 

      Anthony who finished with seven catches for 128 yards, proved to be a dangerous big-play threat. 

    Jaimes was sharp through the air, completing 17 of 21 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.     

     On the ground, Lockhart churned out 128 rushing yards. Kaidyn Brite (53 yards) and Ezequiel Navarro (58 yards) paced the run game, while Jaimes added 17 yards and two short-yardage touchdowns, giving him three total scores on the night.

     Despite the loss, the defense showed grit, holding the Dragons in check for long stretches. Miguel Portillo (Sr) led with nine tackles, while Bob Estrada (Jr) added seven and Avery Ybarra (Jr) chipped in five. Their efforts kept Lockhart within striking distance throughout the game.

     Lockhart will travel to Lehman Friday before returning back to Lions home field for Homecoming 2025 on the 26th.