The Hays Highway
Among the ways to lose a football game, two are the most general. One is to be unable to score. The other is to not keep the other team from scoring.
The football teams at Lehman and San Marcos high schools instantiated each ten days ago. Now, both teams hope they can rebound Friday night as they begin playing in their districts.
Lehman absorbed a very tough loss, 7-0 at San Antonio Edison on Sept. 15. The Lobos now are 1-3 as they try to find their offense. Edison's Tim Contreras took the opening kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown, and that was all the scoring.
The Lobos have gotten it half right. Their defense kept a productive Edison offense out of the end zone, allowing only 85 rushing yards. When Edison moved all the way to the Lehman three with a first down after a long pass, the Lehman defense stiffened.
But the Lehman offense couldn't finish opportunities. Twice in the second half, Lehman took the ball at the Edison 32 or closer without going into the end zone.
The Lobos begin their District 26-4A season Friday night at Bob Shelton Stadium with their homecoming game against Del Valle, which is 2-1 after a 70-14 drubbing of Reagan last Friday. Del Valle running back Travis Collins-Johnson rushed for 217 yards on seven carries, including touchdown carries of 71, 51 and 69 yards.
San Marcos struggled defensively on Sept. 14 against Pflugerville, losing, 48-21, at Bobcat Stadium. The Rattlers rushed for 261 yards, compared with 239 for Pflugerville. But the Rattlers didn't exactly match Pflugerville pass-for-pass, throwing for only 44 yards, compared with 139 for Pflugerville.
The Panthers took a 22-0 lead in the second quarter, which didn't bode well for the comeback chances of a San Marcos squad so reliant on the running game.
Next up for San Marcos is a Friday night meeting at House Park against Anderson, which is 2-1 after a 27-24 win against Vista Ridge on Sept. 14.
The good news for Lehman and San Marcos, of course, is that the games they've played this year so far don't count against their playoff chances. Lehman, 0-3, figures to face a tough haul in one of the top Class 4A districts in Texas. San Marcos, 2-1, enters District 25-5A this week needing only to finish in the top half for playoff qualification.
