By Moses Leos III
For the tenth time in ten tries, the Hays Rebels hold the bragging rights over their crosstown rivals.
Thirty-nine unanswered points Friday paved the way for Hays to roll past the Lehman Lobos 46-9 at Shelton Stadium.
Hays (3-2, 2-1) improves to 10-0 in its all-time series against Lehman. The Rebels’ 37-point win was their largest margin of victory over Lehman (0-5, 0-3) since the 2007-2008 season.
Guiding Hays was an offense that amassed 427 yards on the night. But it was overcoming a slow start that allowed Hays’ offense to thrive.
Hays only led 8-0 after a quarter of play, despite having a chance to punch in a score following a Lobo turnover.
Rebel quarterback Cody Reiley said injuries played a role in those struggles. He said a “lot of people” went out of the game due to injuries. But the Rebels worked out the kinks and improved communication between the first and second quarters to turn things around.
“We started to work well after that,” Reiley said.
Most of the damage was done on the ground as Hays gained 296 rushing yards. Quarterback Cody Reiley and running back Cade Powell each rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown. Rebel running back Cody Gandy led the way with 93 yards and two scores.
“[Cody] is a great running back. I love having him in the backfield. He’s a hard worker,” Reiley said. “Even if you don’t put a line out there, he’s still going to run as hard as he can.”
As the Rebel offense held control, its defense capitalized on a Lehman squad that struggled to get out of its own way. Hays scored 21 total points off Lehman turnovers.
Lehman’s struggle was highlighted by a 59-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Hays’ defensive lineman Dale Caswell in the fourth quarter.
For Caswell, it was benefiting from the situation at hand.
“I came off of the line, and saw the ball go over the quarterback’s head … I saw the ball, and said, ‘oh, I’ve got to do something with it,’” Caswell said. “I didn’t want to fall on the ball because I saw green. I picked up the ball and started running for my life.”
Meanwhile, Lehman’s offensive struggles continued as the Lobos could only amass 197 total yards. Lobo quarterback Jacob Zamora threw for 150 yards. Running back Bryan Mendoza rushed for 52 yards.
Youth continues to be an issue the Lobos struggle with. Raymond said sophomore starting quarterback Jeremiah Brown let the “emotions and nerves get to him a bit.”
“We’re young and we show it. We play that way sometimes,” Raymond said. “We have to keep working.”
But the Lobos primary issue was miscues, and the team’s inability to recover from them.
Raymond said the team hasn’t been able to show the work they’ve put in practice so far this year.
“We play our tails off, and then we make a mistake, and for a small window, the wheels fall off and we can’t recover,” Raymond said. “We aren’t putting the product out there … the work all of the kids put in.”
The Rebels claimed momentum for good via a crippling 31-point run that began in the second quarter.
It was initiated by a 40-yard field goal by Jax Kell. Disaster then struck for the Lobos on the first play of the ensuing drive. A fumble on a pitch play was recovered in the endzone by a Hays defender, increasing the Rebel lead. A touchdown run by Reiley gave Hays a 25-0 advantage.
After a Gandy touchdown to end the first half, Hays closed its run with a 22-yard scamper by Powell, which put them ahead 39-0 and out of reach.
Lehman’s offense found some rhythm in the second half, allowing the Lobos to tally nine points in the final 24 minutes.
Hays will play Anderson Friday at Shelton Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Lehman travels to play at Lake Travis at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
