By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

CEDAR CREEK – Despite 11 penalties and three turnovers, Lockhart scored on three consecutive possessions in the first half and cruised to a 42-20 victory over Cedar Creek Friday night at Memorial Stadium in its District 13 opener.

“It’s huge,” Lockhart Head Coach Todd Moebes said of starting 1-0 in district play. “It’s a whole new season, and our district looks to be very competitive again.”

The Lions improved to 2-3 overall, while Cedar Creek dropped to 0-5, 0-1 in district play.

Sporting new uniforms that included white helmets with the maroon Lion logo and mostly white pants and jerseys, Lockhart fell behind early, 7-0, led 28-14 at the half and as much as 42-14 before settling for the 22-point victory.

Cedar Creek capitalized on a Lockhart fumble three plays into the game, and drove 43 yards in nine plays, scoring with 7:01 left in the first quarter when quarterback Dillon Dubee scored on a sneak from the 1-yard line. Manuel Duron-Leon’s PAT was good, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead.

After an interception gave Lockhart two turnovers on its first seven plays, the Lions got rolling.

On the very next play after a Lockhart turnover on a tipped pass, Zakaya Gathings picked off a Cedar Creek pass and returned it 31 yards to the Eagles’ 24. On the first play from scrimmage after getting the ball back, Lockhart quarterback Ashton Dickens handed off to Nathaniel Gonzales who sprinted to his left before handing off to wide receiver Kadon Moebes, a freshman, wearing a cast after injuring his wrist earlier in the season, turned on the speed and scored on the 24-yard reverse for his first varsity touchdown. Omar Ocampo kicked the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:45 left in the opening frame.

Coach Moebes said the cast was for precautionary reasons.

“Varsity football is tough in a lot of aspects,” Coach Moebes said. “It’s unusual for (Kadon Moebes and Jordan Frohock) to contribute as they have at the varsity football level at this school.”

On the ensuing kickoff, Ocampo kicked short and high on purpose to a spot on the field where Quavon Reese was able to grab the ball for the Lions at the Cedar Creek 28. Four plays later, senior Nathan Garcia scored on a 2-yard run. Ocampo’s PAT made it 14-7 with 2:40 left in the first quarter.

“That was a tremendous kick by Omar,” Coach Moebes said. “The wind was in our face and it kind of hung up there for the kickoff team to get down there.”

The Lions scored on a third consecutive possession that ended with 11:21 left in the second quarter when Gonzales stopped, then exploded for a 30-yard TD run. Ocampo’s kick made it 21-7.

Cedar Creek knocked it down to a one-score game with 6:57 left in the second quarter when Blake Orr connected with Mason Thomas on a 30-yard pass over the middle. Duron-Leon’s kick made it 21-14, which is how it stood at the half.

After forcing Cedar Creek to punt on its first possession of the third period, Lockhart drove 76 yards in six plays. Gonzales finished off the drive with a 4-yard run with 6:07 left in the period. Ocampo’s kick made it 28-14.

The Lions later drove 60 yards seven plays, capping it off on Bart Key’s 8-yard run with 11:17 remaining in the game. Ocampo’s kick made it 35-14.

After Ben Mendez picked off a Cedar Creek pass later in the final period, Lockhart went 62 yards in just three plays, the final 41 yards on a great run by Gonzales, who finished with 253 yards on 25 carries, his third 200-plus yard game of the year. Ocampo’s kick made it 42-14 with 4:24 remaining.

“(Gonzales) is a workhorse,” said Coach Moebes. “He has trained himself to be that way. He’s a model for his work ethic. He does a great job. He has developed great chemistry with our offensive line.”

Cedar Creek added a final TD with 41 seconds left on a 2-yard pass from Dubee to Thomas, but a bad snap on the PAT forced the holder to try and run and he was tackled by the Lions.

Up next for Lockhart, the Veterans Memorial Patriots of San Antonio will come to Lions Stadium on Friday. Veterans Memorial is 3-1 on the season without the services of star running back James Peoples, who has already signed with Ohio State University.

LHS Coach Moebes believes Peoples could return this week for district action. Even without Peoples, the Patriots are talented.

“They are very talented and explosive on offense and very physical,” Coach Moebes said. “They play the game the right way and very well-coached. They went three rounds deep in the playoffs last season.”

Veterans Memorial had an open date last week. The Patriots beat the Lions in a shootout last season, 49-42. Lockhart gets its bye week next week.

* * *

District 13 Standings

All        District

Kerrville Tivy  5-0       1-0

Pieper            4-1       1-0

Lockhart        2-3       1-0

Vets Mem.     3-1       0-0

Bastrop          3-2       0-1

Liberty Hill     2-3       0-1

Cedar Creek   0-5       0-1

Last week scores:

Lockhart 42, Cedar Creek 20

Tivy 34, Liberty Hill 28

Pieper 63, Bastrop 22

Veterans Memorial open date

Next week’s games:

Veterans Memorial at Lockhart

Tivy at Bastrop

Cedar Creek at Liberty Hill

Pieper has open date

GAME STATS

Sept. 22, Memorial Stadium, Cedar Creek

Score by Quarters

Lockhart 14   7   7 14  —  42

Cedar Creek   7   7   0   6  —  20

TEAM STATS     Lockhart   Cedar Creek

First Downs 18           15

Rushes-Yards         46-421     31-106

Passing         4-12-2             11-32-2

Passing Yards                 56         117

Total Yards               477         223

Punts-Avg.           7-28.7     2-45.5

Penalties-Yards             4-35       11-96

Fumbles-Lost 1-1           2-1

Time of Possession             20:58       27:02

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING

LOCKHART — Gonzales 25-253, Dickens 13-79, Key 5-58, Moebes 1-24, Reese 1-5, Garcia 1-2. CEDAR CREEK 14-50, Dubee 9-29, Houston 3-13, Cancino 3-10, Orr 2-4.

PASSING

LOCKHART — Dickens 4-12-2-56. CEDAR CREEK — Dubee 8-20-2-80, Orr 3-12-0-37.

RECEIVING

LOCKHART — Holcomb 1-26, Deutsch 2-22, Reese 1-8. CEDAR CREEK — Paysse 3-42, Thomas 2-32, Torres 2-21, Rose 3-15, Baker 1-7.

* * *

SCORING

First Quarter

CEDAR CREEK — Dubee 1 run (Duron-Leon kick), 7:01

LOCKHART — Moebes 24 run (Ocampo kick), 4:34

LOCKHART — Garcia 2 run (Ocampo kick), 2:45

Second Quarter

LOCKHART — Gonzales 30 run (Ocampo kick), 11:21

CEDAR CREEK — Thomas 30 pass from Orr (Duron-Leon kick), 6:57

Third Quarter

LOCKHART — Gonzales 4 run (Ocampo kick), 6:07

Fourth Quarter

LOCKHART — Key 8 run (Ocampo kick), 11:17

LOCKHART — Gonzales 41 run (Ocampos kick), 4:24

CEDAR CREEK — Thomas 2 pass from Dubee (run fail), :41