Lions clinch playoff berth in rout of Pieper

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

In what is likely his final home game, Lockhart senior Sean McKinney ran for 177 yards and six touchdowns as the Lions clinched a playoff berth with a 61-35 victory over Pieper Friday night on what turned out to be a somewhat chilly evening at Lions Stadium.

Junior quarterback Ashton Dickens had his second consecutive game with more than 200 yards rushing for the Lions with 219 yards on the ground.

Lockhart trailed early as the Warriors drove 68 yards in four plays to open the game, taking a 7-0 lead, then went 62 yards in 10 plays on his second series to lead 14-7, but it was all Lockhart from there on.

The Lions led 28-21 at the half and scored 33 unanswered points to lead Pieper 61-28 until the Warriors scored against Lions’ reserves with 15 seconds remaining.

The win lifted Lockhart to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in District 13, tied for third in the District with Tivy of Kerrville, where they will visit in next week’s regular season finale. The top four teams from each District qualify for the playoffs.

McKinney scored on a pair of one-yard runs in the first half, then scored four second-half TDs on runs of 24, 27, 16 and one yard.

Dickens had a 77-yard TD run in the first quarter, an 11-yarder in the second period, and a 36-yard run in the third period.

Lockhart racked up 420 yards on 50 attempts overall, while Dickens passed for 35 more.

The Lions’ defense allowed Pieper quarterback Jake Strachan 192 yards on 27 attempts, but the rest of the Warriors managed just 46 yards on 15 carries. Strachan was also  16-of-27 through the air for 246 yards, however, the Lions had three interceptions (Trey Brown two and Zakaya Gathings one) and three fumble recoveries (Ramos two and Edward Mendoza one). Lockhart did not turn the ball over.

* * *

5A-2, Region IV District 13

District All

Liberty Hill        5-0       8-1

Lockhart           3-2       6-3

Veterans Memorial       3-2       6-3

Tivy      3-2       5-4

Pieper  2-3       2-7

Bastrop             2-4       2-8

Cedar Creek      0-5       0-9

* — denotes cliched playoff berth

Last week’s results

Lockhart 61, Pieper 35

Tivy 35, Veterans Memorial 31

Liberty Hill 61, Bastrop 7

Cedar Creek is open

Nov. 4 schedule

Lockhart at Kerrville Tivy

Liberty Hill at Pieper

Veterans Memorial at Cedar Creek

Bastrop is open