By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

SAN ANTONIO — A couple of tough road games forced the young Lockhart Lions to grow up in the line of fire, but they hope returning home Friday against the Lehman lobos of Kyle will get them off to the right start in the new district.

Lockhart showed signs of vast improvement from its opening week loss at Victoria West to last Friday’s 36-23 setback at San Antonio Southwest.

The new 5A D1 District 12 for Lockhart has nine teams, so Lockhart will jump into District play in Week 3 against Lehman.

“Of course, with nine in the district, we can only play two non-district games,” Lions’ Head Coach Todd Moebes said. “These are certainly ones that count. These district games determine if you get to play an 11th game.”

The top four in the district qualify for postseason action, something Lockhart has managed in back-to-back seasons at 5A D2.

The Lions batted Southwest at Legacy Stadium and trailed by just one score inside the final four minutes.

Southwest missed a field goal on its first drive but took a 7-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first quarter when AJ Franco passed 6 yards to Aazeryuan Voss for what would become the first of a 4-touchdown night as well as a 116-yard receiving effort for the talented senior. Angel Rodriguez-Escoto kicked the PAT.

However, one play and 13 seconds later, Lockhart tied the Dragons with a 63-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Kadon Moebes to sophomore Jordan Frohock, who got behind the secondary and sprinted in the final 29 yards for the score. Evan Estrada kicked the PAT and with 1:41 left in the opening quarter, the game was tied at 7-7.

The game remained tied until 4:38 left in the first half when Rodriguez-Escoto kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 10-7 Southwest lead.

Lockhart’s defense, perhaps having its biggest lapse of the night, allowed the Dragons to drive 86 yards in four plays, taking only 53 seconds to score when Voss hauled in a short pass from Franco, then put on the moves to sprint in for a 47-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the half. A bad snap resulted in a failed two-point pass to leave the score at 16-7.

By halftime, Southwest had run 37 plays from scrimmage to just 13 for Lockhart.

Southwest used an interception by Andre Sullivan to set up its first score in the third quarter, a 22-yard pass from Franco to Voss, who outjumped a Lockhart defender for the TD. Rodriguez-Escoto’s kick made it 23-7.

Lockhart answered with an 11-play, 72-yard drive to cut the Dragon’s lead to 23-13. Nathaniel Gonzales capped off the drive with a 2-yard run. The pass for two failed.

Following an onsides kick recovery by Bob Estrada, Lockhart inched closer as Evan Estrada booted a 32-yard field goal on the third play of the fourth period to pull within 23-16 with 10:40 remaining.

Southwest promptly drove 80 yards in 12 plays, taking 7:19 off the clock and leading 29-16 with 3:31 left to play when Voss scored, his final TD on a 44-yard jet sweep. Rodriguez-Escoto kicked the PAT.

The Dragons recovered an onsides kick and put the game away with a 28-yard run on a direct snap to Tyson Deen with 1:59 remaining. Rodriguez-Escoto’s kick made it 36-16.

Lockhart wasn’t through as Kadon Moebes found Gage Deutsch on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds left. Evan Estrada’s kick set the final margin.

The Lions cut down on their penalties, committing just five on the night. Moebes also completed 8-of-12 passes for 160 yards; Deutsch and Frohock hauling in 75 yards each. Gonzales led the rushing attack with 80 yards on 12 attempts, but Lockhart’s longest run of the evening was his 17-yard effort on his second carry.

“As a football team, we got better from week one to week two,” Todd Moebes said. “That’s important. We need to continue to clean up some things that put us in poor situations. We watched video and have addressed those key crucial moments.”

Defensively, Ayden Scott seemed to be all over the field making plays for the Lions. Coach Moebes also credited Santiago Guerra and Josuph Zurita for playing at a high-level on defense.

UP NEXT

Lockhart plays its home-opener when the Lehman Lobos of Kyle visit Lions Stadium Friday at 7:30 p.m. Lehman won last year’s game at Kyle, 41-31.

Both Lockhart and Lehman are 0-2 in non-district action. The Lions have been outscored 65-30, while the Lobos have been outscored 60-6.

“Playing at home is certainly something special,” Todd Moebes said. “Both of our road trips have been long, and we’ve got a couple of more long ones coming up at the end of this year. I think our football team has handled it really well, which is good to see.”

* * *

GAME STATISTICS

at Legacy Stadium, San Antonio

Score by Quarters

Lockhart   7   0             6 10  —  23

S.A. Southwest   7   9   7 13  —  36

TEAM STATS               Lockhart     S.A. Southwest

First Downs           14                           22

Rushes-Yards     28-133                   44-259

Passing     8-12-1                 10-18-0

Passing Yards                   160         217                

Total Yards           293         476

Punts-Avg.       2-35.0     1-39.0

Penalties-Yards           5-40       11-91

Fumbles-Lost           2-1           1-0

Time of Possession         21:25       26:35

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING

LOCKHART — Gonzales 12-80, Roland 8-38, Moebes 7-30, team 1-(-15). SOUTHWEST — Deen 5-90.                         Mills 16-58, Voss 5-50, Moxley 8-31, Stemley 6-18, Manzano 3-18, Franco 1-(-1).

PASSING

LOCKHART — Moebes 8-12-1-160. SOUTHWEST — Franco 10-18-0-217.

RECEIVING

LOCKHART — Deutsch 4-75, Frohock 2-75, Abel 1-12, Roland 1-(-2). SOUTHWEST — Voss 5-116, Hattig 2-48, Alvarado 1-25, Deen 1-14, Rivas 1-14.

* * *

SCORING

First Quarter

SOUTHWEST — Voss 6 pass from Franco (Rodriguez-Escoto kick), 1:54

LOCKHART — Frohock 63 pass from Moebes (E.Estrada kick), 1:41

Second Quarter

SOUTHWEST — Rodriguez-Escoto 26 field goal, 4:38

SOUTHWEST — Voss 47 pass from Franco (pass fail), :32

Third Quarter

SOUTHWEST — Voss 22 pass from Franco (Rodriguez-Escoto kick), 10:01

LOCKHART — Gonzales 2 run (pass fail), 5:02

Fourth Quarter

LOCKHART — E. Estrada 32 field goal, 10:40

SOUTHWEST — Voss 22 run (kick fail), 3:31

SOUTHWEST — Deen 28 run (Rodriguez-Escoto kick), 1:59

LOCKHART — Deutsch 27 pass from Moebes (E.Estrada kick), :45

* * *

5A D1 District 12

Thursday, Sept. 5

Akins 42, Cedar Creek 29

Leander 42, Hendrickson 21

Pflugerville 47, Hays 7

Friday, Sept. 6

San Antonio Southwest 36, Lockhart 23

Anderson 62, Elgin 20

A&M Consolidated 35, Forney 34

Pflugerville Weiss 54, San Marcos 0

College Station 48, Magnolia 21

Saturday, Sept. 7

Jay 48, Lehman 0

This Week’s Games

Lehman at Lockhart

Anderson at College Station

A&M Consolidated at Weiss

Hendrickson at Hays

Cedar Creek is OPEN