Lions leave Steele bent out of shape, lose 14-0

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

The Schertz Steele team was bent out of shape by the Lockhart Lions at the Lions Stadium, despite the 14-0 final score and the fifth loss of the season for the Lions on Friday, Oct. 12.
“The rebound from last week was impressive. I thought the kids came out and did a great job,” Head Football Coach Troy Moses said after th

e game. “You know, after last week’s performance, they could have turned it all in and really come out flat, but they didn’t. They played well.”
The Lions did play an incredible game of football. In fact, they only allowed 14 points to be scored by the Steele team, which was a feat in itself. Steele has beaten other teams by huge margins and the Lions’ defense held them back enough to make them earn their lowest-scoring win to date.
Prior to the game against the Lions, Steele had beaten Clemens (16-0) and Canyon (26-20). Steele beat Harlandale (45-6), Stevens (20-14) and Austin Lanier (44-13). No one can say the Lions didn’t put a dent in their game. A score of 14-0 is a respectable loss when compared the rest of the scores.
“I think Steele is going to be a playoff team, guaranteed,” Moses said. “They are going to get first or second in this district. They have a lot of talent and we gave them a run for their money.”
The Lions did give the Knights a run for their money.
The Lion defense was tough to get through. It made the Steele team uncomfortable enough to keep making crucial mistakes throughout the game. Steele came into the game with a 5-0 record and could not score one point against the Lions during the first half.
Another noticeable triumph for the Lions was Lockhart had 15 first downs to Steele’s 10 in the entire game. The Lions were moving the ball and keeping the Steele team from moving theirs. The Lions were doing something right.
The most dramatic statistics in the game, though, were the penalties and yards lost. The Lions were given two penalties during the entire game for a total loss of 10 yards. Steele, on the other hand, was given 10 penalties for a total loss of 105 yards.
As far as the penalties go, the Lions were either incredibly disciplined in their playing to avoid more penalties or the Knights were careless and running scared to make so many mistakes. Whatever it was, the Lions played remarkably well against a tough, determined team.
Again, no one can say the Lions didn’t play good football. They did. They finally got to play as a team and it showed.
In the first half of the game no points were scored on either side. The first quarter had both teams fighting back and forth for possession of the ball. A field goal was missed wide right by the Lions with 1:30 left in the quarter. Other than the missed kick, the game was pretty even.
The second quarter started with Steele Knights earning their penalties at the beginning of the quarter. The Knights got a 5-yard penalty for being offsides at the top of the quarter and by 6:10 they had their second penalty and a 10-yard loss for holding. The Lions’ defense did an excellent job of holding back the Steele drives. Casey Butler did most of the carrying for the Lions. The quarter and the first half of the game ended at 0-0.
The third quarter of the game began with Steele kicking off to the Lions. The action and excitement began well into the quarter with the Knights scoring their first touchdown with a perfect long pass to the right side of the field at 4:26. Steele’s extra point kick was no good for a score of 6-0.
Steele earned their third penalty at a loss of 15 yards for interference at 4:24 in third quarter. Butler was impressive in his carries with the help of good blocking by the team. Quarterback Michael Oliva was lucky enough to recover his own fumble before the two-minute warning and the Knights closed the quarter with yet another penalty for holding with 10 seconds to go in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Knights continued to make mistakes. At 9:04 remaining in the game, Steele earned another 15-yard penalty for holding. The Knights came back with a vengeance immediately following their penalty. At 8:55 remaining, Steele made their second touchdown of the night on a first-and-14 from Lockhart’s 45-yard line with a beautiful, perfectly-executed long pass and catch to the left side of the field.
Steele took a time out with the score at 12-0. The two-point conversion attempt was good and the score changed to 14-0 for the remainder of the game. The game continued to be plagued by penalties. The ball went back and forth with both teams punting. Jacob Castillo did a good job of moving the ball forward in the fourth. Stephen Brumley did a good job, catching a pass from Oliva on a third-and-3 with 1:43 left in the game.
The Lions fought hard all the way to the end and to their credit, they played a clean game. With 40 seconds left in the game, the Knights still found it hard to stay away from the holding penalties. Steele ran the clock out and the game ended at 14-0.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Moses said. “They played their hearts out. One thing I told them this past week is that I wanted them to come together and play as a team, play as brothers and play with passion. I think they did a good job of that tonight.”
This week the Lions will be taking on the defending Region IV Champions, Clemens Buffalos at Lions Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct 19. Moses is asking all Lion fans for their support. Everyone is encouraged to wear a white T-shirt to help “white out” the Buffalos at Friday night’s game. Show your Lockhart pride.
See you at the game.
agarza@post-register.com.