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Hays Rebels footballPosted October 2, 2007, 2:20 a.m.
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Hays Highway Editor
LOCKHART – For more anecdotal evidence of high school football's many charms, imagine the kitchen in the home of Hays quarterback Clayton Rogers, who makes tacos for his offensive linemen every week after they don't allow a sack. No doubt, Rogers' mother would be happy to merely imagine it.
One imagines the worst is yet to come for the Rogers kitchen. If his linemen keep blocking like Friday night, he might have to open a Mexican restaurant.
Perhaps Rogers put a little extra beef and cheese in this week's tacos, particularly for 304-pound center Tanner Deichmann, 290-pound guard Ben Klumpp and 298-pound guard Jeremy Serrano, who cleared the way for numerous long runs through the middle Friday night as the Rebels tacked up a 43-32 win at Lockhart.
Rogers and fullback Nikki DeSantiago both went over 100 rushing yards for the second straight week, with Rogers challenging the all-time single-game rushing record at Hays. The quarterback rushed for 277 yards in 23 carries against Lockhart, approaching the school mark of 288 yards set twice by running back Steve Hardaway in 1994.
The Rebels tore off 14 runs of 10 yards or more, 13 of them by Rogers, who counted among them touchdown carries of 39 and 50 yards. Rogers also ran for a three-yard touchdown and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Trey Berry.
After halftime, especially, Rogers blew through the middle for long gains with frequency allowing almost no exceptions. Rogers carried eight times in the second half, seven of them for ten yards or more.
"My line was doing great," Rogers said. "They were busting them, throwing them on their back. My job was to get through the secondary."
The Rebels needed every bit of their offensive productivity on a night when their defense suffered the double-whammy of short fields and an inability to stop Lockhart's Slot-T attack. All of those factors especially showed up during the second half, when the game turned into a shoot-out.
In the second half, alone, Hays and Lockhart combined for 499 offensive yards as each team scored four touchdowns. The difference in the game, basically, came down to the Hays defense showing up in the first half, which constituted the only defensive appearance of the evening.
In taking a 17-7 halftime lead, the Hays defense broke down on only one play, a 58-yard touchdown carry by Lockhart's Casey Butler. Take out that play and the Rebels gave up only 76 total yards in the first half.
But the tone changed entirely with the second half kickoff, returned 59 yards by Lockhart's Christian Estrada to the Hays 36. On the second play from scrimmage, the Rebels threw Lockhart's Zachary Leija for a four-yard loss, but a face-masking penalty moved Lockhart all the way to the 15. Leija ran four yards for a touchdown three plays later, bringing the home side within 17-14.
The Rebels regained their ten-point lead in four plays, three of them being runs of 10, 11 and 39 yards by Rogers, the last for a touchdown. Later in the third quarter, the Rebels established a margin of comfort that would serve them well up to the end. Rogers started the drive with a 30-yard carry moving Hays from its own 18 to the 48. Rogers added runs of 15, 13 and 11 yards on the drive, setting up a ten-yard touchdown run by Anthony Pesina to give Hays a 30-14 lead.
"He's very athletic," Lockhart Coach Troy Moses said of Rogers. "He's got a lot on his feet. We just couldn't get our hands on him."
The Rebels were equally challenged to get their hands on Lockhart ball carriers, particularly in the fourth quarter, when the Lions scored three touchdowns. It's becoming something of a habit for the Rebels' defense to crater in the end. Of 13 touchdowns they have allowed over four games this season, seven have come in the final period.
Lockhart put itself back in the game when quarterback Michael Oliva connected with Gerald Cuellar on a 13-yard touchdown pass to make it 30-20. The Rebels came right back with another quick score off a short kick-off, which emerged as something of a comic regularity in the second half. The Rebels started at the Lockhart 48 after a squib kick. DeSantiago covered 38 yards on one carry to the four, then Pesina finished the job with a four-yard run to give Hays a 37-20 lead.
The Lions moved right back down the field, but Butler fumbled deep in Hays territory and the Rebels recovered at their own one. However, the Rebels couldn't move Lockhart regained possession at the 20 after Rogers' short quick kick on third down. Butler ran four yards for a touchdown to bring Lockhart within 37-26 with 1:38 left.
But the Lockhart threat was short-lived. On Hays' second play after recovering an onsides kick, Rogers streaked 50 yards through the middle for still another touchdown. The Rebels could breathe a little more, holding a 43-26 lead with 1:20 remaining.
"I felt good running through, getting that burst," Rogers said. "It's like chasing a jack rabbit. You don't know what to do, where to go. There's a lot going through your mind."
Soon enough, and almost inevitably, Lockhart managed to score another touchdown. A sneak-attack reverse pass out of the Slot-T did the trick when Estrada passed 27 yards to Jacob Castillo with nine seconds to go. But not even an attack as hot as Lockhart's would be able to overcome a 43-32 deficit with nine seconds left.
"We just ran out of time," Moses said.
Now 0-3 overall and 0-1 in District 26-4A, Lockhart might feel like its offense is rounding into shape. Butler finished the night with 185 rushing yards as the Lions ball-faked their way to 316 yards on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Hays faithful is beginning to fret about a defense that hasn't finished its job since opening night. Hays coaches chalked up a good amount of Friday night's trouble to the mystery of the Slot-T. As the Slot-T requires special skills, especially by the quarterback, a scout team can't possibly simulate it in a week of practice.
With that said, the Hays offense is marking its personality with the power running game. With DeSantiago blasting behind the huge interior offensive line and Rogers using his quickness as a counter-point, the Rebels reached their season high Friday with 493 yards of total offense, 410 of them on the ground. The Rebels are 3-1 overall after winning their District 26-4A opener.
"It was one of those nights where we had to outscore them," Hays Coach Bob Shelton said. "Clayton had a terrific night and we did a good job of blocking. Thankfully, they had trouble stopping us."
Evidently, that will have to be the case going through the district season, if the Rebels are going to win. As long as there's a mess in the Rogers' kitchen, the Rebels will always have a chance.
| HAYS | 3 | 14 | 13 | 13 | — | 43 |
| Lockhart | 0 | 7 | 7 | 18 | — | 32 |
H — Alex Perez 28 FG.
RUSHING: HAYS — Rogers 23-277, Nikki DeSantiago 21-103, Pesina 6-30, Erick Pena 1-0. Lockhart — Butler 25-181, Castillo 7-44, John Alvarez 2-33, Leija 11-30, Dominique Hardaway 2-22, Christian Estrada 2-6.
PASSING (Att-comp-yards-TD-Int): HAYS — Rogers 5-6-83-1-0. Lockhart — Oliva 1-4-13-1-0, Alvarez 0-2-0-0-1, Estrada 1-1-27-1-0.
RECEIVING: HAYS — DeSantiago 2-16, Brandon Lawrence 1-44, Jon Gonzales 1-12, Berry 1-11. Lockhart — Castillo 1-27, Cuellar 1-13.
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H — Trey Berry 11 pass from Clayton Rogers (Perez kick).
L — Casey Butler 58 run (Gerald Cuellar kick).
H — Rogers 3 run (Perez kick).
L — Zachary Leija 4 run (Cuellar kick).
H — Rogers 39 run (Perez kick).
H — Anthony Pesina 10 run (kick failed).
L — Cuellar 13 pass from Michael Oliva (pass failed).
H — Pesina 4 run (Perez kick).
L — Butler 4 run (pass failed).
H — Rogers 50 run (kick failed).
L — Jacob Castillo 27 pass from Christian Estrada (pass failed).
HAYS Lockhart First Downs 22 18 Rushes 51 49 Rushing yards 410 316 Att-comp-TD 5-6-1 2-7-2 Passing yards 83 40 Had intercepted 0 1 Returns-yards 1-25 6-104 Punts-average 2-26.0 2-20.0 Fumbles-lost 1-1 Penalties 6-61 4-20 Time of possession 26:37 21:23
