Cougar country tames Lions 49-6

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

The Lockhart Lions Varsity team traveled to New Braunfels to play against Canyon on Friday, Oct. 5. Lockhart played their most challenging game to date. Unfortunately, the Lions were not prepared to rise to the Canyon Cougars challenge. Lions lost 49-6.
“You know, we just came out flat and never got anything going,” Head F

ootball Coach Troy Moses said right after his talk with the team at the end of the game. “We just weren’t in…our minds weren’t here today. They weren’t in the game. It’s tough for the kids. We just weren’t ready to play tonight,” Moses said.
The Cougars started their domination of the game by scoring the first touchdown of the night with 8:32 left in the first quarter. A two-point conversion attempt was good for a score of 8-0. The Cougars scored the second touchdown of the game in the last minute of the quarter. A two-point conversion attempt failed for a score of 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter began with an official’s timeout for measuring at 11:02 for a third and inches. At 10:59 the Lions had a first-and-10 with the ball on the Canyon 33-yard line.
After a timeout the Lions put John Alvarez in as quarterback with 9:24 remaining in the quarter. A couple of plays later the ball was intercepted and the Cougars gained possession of the ball. They tried to move the ball and ended up punting. By 7:28 the Lions took the ball back. After some carries from Casey Butler, Zachary Leija and Octavio Terrazas the Lions had a first-and-ten again.
Butler carried the ball seven yards for a first-and-goal at 3:36, and by 2:41 Butler carried the ball in for the Lion’s first and only touchdown of the game. There were no extra points added since their fake kick ended up being an incomplete pass. The score changed to 14-6 with the Cougars in the lead.
The Cougars scored another two touchdowns before the second quarter ended. One two-point conversion failed and the first half ended with a score of 28-6.
The second half of the game began with Canyon kicking to Lockhart. Lockhart gave up possession of the ball eventually and the Cougars capitalized on it. With 5:28 remaining the Cougars had a first-and-ten and began driving the ball forward until they scored another touchdown with a 56-yard run.
With five minutes left to play in the third quarter, the Lions regained possession, but only for a brief moment. After a recovered fumble by the Lions the ball went back and forth with both teams punting on the fourth down. The third quarter ended at 35-6. The fourth quarter came with more touchdowns by Canyon. The Cougars moved the ball up the field steadily until they scored the first touchdown of the quarter at 9:05. The extra point kick was good for a score of 42-6.
The Lions had a first-and-ten at the 25-yard line for just one play. The ball was fumbled and Canyon took over at the 27-yard line with 8:47 left on the clock. By 7:26 the Cougars had a third and three at the 19-yard line. At 5:30 the Cougars had a first-and-goal and by 4:14 the Cougars scored their last touchdown of the game. The extra point kick was good for a final score of 49-6.
As in previous games, the Lion’s last ditch effort to score with a long pass with only seconds left in the game was intercepted by their opponent.
“The Lions ran into a tough physical team.” Moses said. “Canyon played their best game of the season. They out hit us, out executed us and played with a purpose. The week before they were beat by Steele and they had something to prove. We did not come out with enough intensity and it was hard to get it back.”
The offensive MVP was Gerald Cuellar who had many key blocks at his strong end position. The defensive MVP was Adam Renteria with eight tackles in the game. Special teams player of the week went to Tim Harper.
The Varsity Lions will play against Steele at Lions Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12. The Lions will celebrate Homecoming and honor the Old Timers.
See you at the game.
agarza@post-register.com