Lions fight Buffaloes to the end, fall 34-20

By Alonzo Garza

POST-REGISTER

Despite all their efforts and a tremendous comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, the Lions fell 34-20 to a determined Clemens Buffaloes team at Lion Stadium last Friday night.

“Clemens is a real good ball kit,” Lion Head Football Coach Paul Kilby said after a hard-fought loss to the Buffaloes. “I’m so proud of ou

r kids. I believe they really played hard ‘til the end. They battled and fought. Some of the mistakes we made in the first half offensively, we cleaned up in the second half.”

The first quarter began with Clemens kicking to Lockhart. The Lions took the ball at the 31-yard line. Levi Mair scored the first touchdown of the game at 7:37 after a couple of carries by Marcos Rodriguez and Chris Jackson. The extra point kick failed for a score of 6-0.

The Buffaloes took their first down at the 49-yard line and wasted no time answering the Lions with a touchdown of their own at 6:57. The extra point kick was good for a score of 6-7. The Buffs scored again at 2:13. The extra point kick was good ending the scoring in the first quarter at 6-14.

The second quarter began with a huge missed opportunity for the Lions, who fumbled the ball for a Buffalo first-and-10 at the 26-yard line at 11:25. Clemens moved the ball to the 39-yard line, where they got a penalty for delay of game. The Buffalo coaches claimed they called a timeout so they were spared the penalty.

By 9:29 the Buffaloes scored another touchdown with a big play. Fortunately for the Lions, the touchdown was voided after flags on the play against the Buffaloes sent the ball back to the 45-yard line. Clemens was penalized for blocking the back and holding.

The Lions regained possession of the ball with six minutes remaining in the quarter. They took the ball at the 15-yard line and moved it to the 28 before the Buffaloes intercepted a Lion pass for a Clemens first-and-10 at the Lion 38-yard line.

The Buffaloes scored their third touchdown of the game with 1:09 remaining in the first half. The extra point kick was good ending the scoring in the half at 6-21.

Third quarter action began at 8:38 with a Clemens touchdown. The extra point kick failed for a score of 6-27.

The Lions answered with an 80-yard touchdown run by Jackson. A late flag on the play was for a personal foul against Clemens. The extra point kick was good for a 13-27 score at 8:25.

The Buffaloes took a first-and-10 at the Lion 30-yard line after a roughing the passer penalty against Lockhart. By 5:30, Clemens had a first-and-10 at the 16-yard line. They took a time out at 4:12 and scored another touchdown by 2:44. The extra point kick was good and no further scoring ended the third at 13-34.

The fourth quarter began with a pass interference penalty against Lockhart. The Lion defense fought hard to keep the Buffaloes from scoring and succeeded.

Possession of the ball went back and forth until Logan Zimmerhanzel recovered a Buffalo fumble for a Lion first-and-10 at the 15-yard line. The ball was moved all the way to the 42-yard line for a first down. Rodriguez carried the ball to a second-and-two before Jackson ran the ball in for the last touchdown at 2:50. The extra point kick was good for a score of 20-34.

Jackson made a final effort to impress the Lion fans and improve Lockhart’s standings with a 64-yard carry at 14 seconds remaining in the game. The Lions’ defense ended the night’s action by sacking the Buffalo quarterback on the last play ending the game at 20-34.

“We looked a lot better offensively,” Kilby said. “I’m real proud of our defense. They battled and battled and fought. I’m just proud of our kids. They played hard and fought hard, unfortunately we came up short.”

There will be no football game on Friday, Oct. 7. The Lions will take advantage of much needed healing time this bye week and most certainly go back to the drawing board and reassess their strategy. With two district losses behind them and four district challenges remaining, the Lions are still not out of the playoffs.

They will return to action on Friday, Oct. 14.

See you at the game.

agarza@post-register.com