Lions roar past Lobos for 44-0 Homecoming victory

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

Homecoming night ended with a spectacular finish for the Lockhart Lions (4-4) who rolled over the Lehman Lobos (2-6) like a runaway freight train. The Lion train kept rolling all night long. Even the clock on the scoreboard couldn”t take it anymore and simply malfunctioned with 2:27 left in the game. The Lions celebrated Homecoming

in style with a 44-0 victory.
“Our guys worked hard.” said Head Coach Les Goad after the game. “They really earned this victory. Everything came together tonight. I”m proud of them.”
Quarterback Dustin Garza completed two attempted passes for a total of 88 yards. Alex Joseph caught a 58-yard pass and Marcus Officer caught a 30-yard pass. Terrance Waldon led the rushing with only four carries totaling 79 yards. Demetrius Joseph rushed for 69 yards with nine carries while Kennard Lakes rushed for 42 yards with eight carries. Casey Butler made seven carries for a total of 29 yards. Richard Ybarra was back in the game after injuries with four carries totaling 25 yards. A. Joseph rushed for 21 yards with two carries and Kory Robbins rushed for 9 yards also with two carries. David Moore had two extra point kicks miss the mark, but he did make a 20-yard field goal and punted for 40 yards.
The Lions had five penalties for a loss of 41 yards. The most upsetting events during the night were four fumbles that cost them control of the ball three times. Even with all the turnovers, the Lehman Lobos were never able to gain their footing. The Lions owned the field from the very beginning.
The first quarter started with a touchdown by Waldon at a little under four minutes into the game. Moore”s kick was good and the score was 7-0. Moore kicked to Lehman well into the end zone. The Lobos took a first-and-ten at the 20-yard line. There was a flag on the play for pass interference against the Lions. It was good for an automatic first down for Lobos. The Lobos could not move the ball forward by rushing so they decided to try a pass. With the clock at 6:43 Calvin Johnson intercepted the Lehman pass and took it in for the Lion”s second touchdown. Moore”s extra point kick was blocked for a 13-0 score.
At 6:00 on the clock the Lobos found it difficult to penetrate the Lockhart defense. Unable to move forward the Lobos decided to punt. It was good for 26 yards but Waldon returned the ball 32 yards. The first quarter ended with Lockhart at the 5-yard line and a first-and-goal.
The second quarter was equally impressive. Lion D. Joseph rushed in for touchdown number three with 11:19 on the clock making it 19-0. Before the new score could sink in, Garza carried for a two-point conversion, making the score 21-0.
The Lobos got the ball at 11:12. Again the Lions stopped the Lobos dead in their tracks. An attempted pass by the Lobos was blocked by Lion Michael Harvey forcing Lehman to punt. A. Joseph returned. There were flags on the play for an illegal block on the back against the Lions costing them a 10-yard penalty. At 9:24, Officer got a great pass and caught it despite all the defending Lobos. The Lions moved the ball easily finding daylight down the middle. At 7:06 D. Joseph fumbled the ball only to get it back. At 6:10 Moore kicked a field goal making the score 24-0.
Moore kicked into the end zone again for a touchback. There were flags on the play for blocking below the waist against Lehman. With 5:28 left in the second quarter things got a little loopy. First, Lobo Hardaway fumbled Lehman”s ball. The loose ball was recovered by A. Joseph for the Lions. At 3:37 the Lions were at second-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Flags went flying for a false start against the Lions so they moved back 5 yards. A pitch got dropped then picked up again by A. Joseph who carried it to the 3-yard line. At 3:10 D. Joseph rushed in for touchdown number four making it a 30-0 score. Moore”s extra point kick went wide left and was no good.
At 3:03 the kickoff to Lehman went deep and a Lobo player”s knee hit the ground forcing them to take the ball at the 4-yard line. At 2:12 the Lobos fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Lions. At 2:04 the seemingly slippery football was fumbled again and that time it was recovered by the Lobos. Lehman took control of the ball for a first- and-ten at the one-yard line. At 1:43 the Lobos made a miraculous attempt to get out of the goal line and succeeded temporarily. The Lobos rushed for a couple of first-and-tens and then with only 19 seconds left in the half they completed a pass for another first-and- ten. With a mere seven seconds left to play before halftime, a Lobo pass was intercepted by A. Joseph who ran in for a touchdown. Lockhart fans went wild only to turn their cheers into jeers when the officials had to recognize the obvious flags on the field. They were for illegal blocking against the Lions. The touchdown was no good ending the half at 30-0.
During halftime the diehard Lockhart fans were treated to the usual halftime entertainment only, this time the Homecoming activities were highlighted and the Twelfth Annual Old Timers Game honored the 1956 District Champions. Old Timers present were Russell Barron, Powell Borchert, Fred Buckner, Lupe Carrizales, Tom Efird, Dawson Ehrlich, Mickey Guckian, Billy Koehler, Henry Masur, Fred McConnell, Carroll Miears, Kenneth Overman, Bob Page, Royse Peiser, Donny Schmidt, Rudy Schroeder, Clarence Schulle, Herb Schulze, Julio Moreno, Manager Gene Crouch and Head Coach Jesse “Red” Burditt. Burditt”s special quests were Norbert “Dutch” Ohlendorf, Potsy Guckian,Jim Stedman, and Domingo Fernandez, who served as host for the evening. Head Athletic Trainer Jim De La Cruz organized the event.
The second half of the game was not as exciting as the first but still interesting to watch. The first play of the half had flags. D. Joseph had a 30-yard run. At 10:38 Waldon ran in for another touchdown. The extra point kick by Moore was good. The score changed to 37-0. The return by the Lobos was stopped by the relentless Lion defense. The Lobos could not seem to catch a break. They took two time outs within a minute. The Lions took over the ball at 6:53. At 5:35 with a third-and-12, the Lions decided to pass the ball. A 58-yard pass from Garza to A. Joseph was completed. A. Joseph and a defending Lobo fought for the football as Joseph kept moving forward gaining at least 5 extra yards in the struggle. At 4:09 D. Joseph carried for a third-and-two. With 3:34 remaining, Waldon increased the score again making it a 43-0 game. Moore”s extra point was good ending the scoring in the game at 44-0. Moore”s kick went well into the end zone again. The Lobos didn”t gain much yardage. The Lions took over at the 49-yard line with Michael Oliva as quarterback and the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a mess. It was full of flags and fumbles. It brought with it a sense of disarray and some confusion. And as if all the flags and fumbles weren”t enough, the scoreboard decided to go on the blink. The left side of the scoreboard cleared itself leaving only the Lockhart score up. The last recorded time was 2:27 and then even the clock went out. The officials scrambled around looking for an explanation. The Lehman coaches were not happy. The fans went silent until out of nowhere came a timekeeper who used her wristwatch as the official time clock. The game resumed in a slightly surreal setting. More flags and another fumble in the last two minutes of the game.
“I”m really glad we got a game where we could play a lot of guys who have worked real hard all year. That was a good thing about this game,” said Coach Goad. “We need to get ready for the next one. We play our best football next week.”
The Lions will face the New Braunfels Unicorns on Friday night in New Braunfels. Game time will be 7:30 pm.