By Moses Leos III
With only four seniors on the field Friday, a young Lehman Lobos squad was given a rude awakening to varsity football.
Struggles in corralling the speedy Bastrop Bears hindered the Lobos in a 47-14 season opening loss at Bastrop Memorial Stadium.
With one game under their belt, Lehman head coach Todd Raymond said the team now eyes on improving game-by-game.
“It was the first game for a lot of these kids. That youth showed as the game went on and we got tired,” Raymond said. “The good thing is that there’s not anything that isn’t correctable. It’s all fixable.”
Fixing mistakes that occur “at the wrong parts of the game” is one issue Raymond said the team will tackle. Raymond said the Lobos were able to move the ball effectively against Bastrop, but were unable to capitalize and finish drives.
Raymond said the Bears weren’t “physically beating” them, but miscues – missed block assignments, dropped passes and missed tackles – plagued the young Lobos.
Lehman’s struggles were the Bears’ gain. Bastrop used their team speed to their advantage; it’s something Raymond said the Lobos struggle with.
“You can’t coach speed,” Raymond said. “As the game went on, we became tired, and their speed created a bigger issue for us.”
After a scoreless first frame, the Bears surged for a 20-point flurry in the second period, highlighted by a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Calvin Hendricks to wide receiver Dalton Thomas.
Big plays soon began to doom the Lobos in the second half. A Javon Jones 65-yard touchdown run, followed by a Orion Bera 45-yard interception return for a score put the Bears ahead 34-0 and out of reach.
Lehman’s offense was able to generate movement with senior quarterback Jacob Zamora at the helm. Zamora went 9 of 23 passing for 103 yards.
Raymond lauded the play of Zamora, who he said wasn’t cleared by the UIL to play until several hours before game time. He said the process for clearing paperwork “took longer than expected.”
Raymond said the issue was a “huge distraction” for Zamora, but that he performed well in his first varsity game.
Joining Zamora was sophomore Jerimiah Brown, who led the team with 72 yards rushing on the night.
“Jeremiah showed his athleticism and explosiveness,” Raymond said. “I thought he did a good job, but he got overwhelmed with some things, too.”
The wide-eyed view was one taken by many new Lobo starters, including the offensive line, which had never started a varsity game. While working on technique and physicality is important, so also is shaking the first game jitters.
“When the lights turn on and the band starts to play, it gets live,” Raymond said. “You have to work on the little things at that point. We need to calm down a little bit.”
Staying healthy, primarily on defense, will be a pivotal factor as the Lobos host McCallum. Regaining the services of senior linebacker Kacey Santos, who sat out Friday with a concussion, is key for Raymond.
Execution will also play a role as well.
“We need to be disciplined and physical,” he said. “Week one is week one. Now we need to be start getting better.”
