By Moses Leos III
For the first 24 minutes of Friday’s game, the Lehman Lobos and Vista Ridge Rangers went toe-to-toe in a back-and-forth slugfest.
But a 27-point second half Vista Ridge flurry sunk the Lobos in a 41-21 loss at Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park.
While Lehman head coach Todd Raymond lauded his team’s effort, a moral victory wasn’t enough.
“It’s great to be able to go and beat a team that went to the state semifinals [last year]. But I told my kids it stings,” Raymond said. “We’re past that point as a program. We want to start putting Ws on the scoreboard. If we don’t, we’re going to be disappointed in that.”
Lehman was unable to halt Vista Ridge quarterback Jacob Taute, who went 17 for 27, threw for 310 yards and finished the game with six total touchdowns.
Raymond said the team knew Friday was going to be a challenging game, as the Rangers returned Taute and several others players from injury.
“Their quarterback got better as the game went on,” Raymond said. “They (Vista Ridge) are getting better and they’re getting healthier.”
Lehman kept pace with Vista Ridge in the early going, with the Lobos taking a 7-0 first quarter lead via a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Zamora to wide receiver Chastin Evans.
After Vista Ridge tied the game in the second quarter, the Lobos regained the lead with a 14-play, six-plus minute drive, capped off by a touchdown run from wide receiver Tyler Henderson.
But Lehman’s 14-7 lead was short lived, as Vista Ridge orchestrated a late touchdown drive before halftime to tie the game at 14-14 at halftime.
Raymond said Vista Ridge did a “good job of bottling up” Henderson, who was limited to 32 yards rushing in the game. The Rangers also held down running back Bryan Mendoza, who only gained 61 yards on 15 carries.
Mendoza, who Raymond said didn’t practice much leading up to the Vista Ridge game, was limited in the second half due to being “banged up.”
Lehman relied on quarterback Jacob Zamora, who went 9 of 22 for 115 yards and two passing touchdowns. Raymond said Zamora was able to distribute the ball effectively through the air.
“We knew we had them schemed up on a few things,” Raymond said. “He isn’t going to hurt you with his feet. He’s going to hurt you with his arm.”
But Vista Ridge stormed out of the locker room from the start of the second half and never looked back.
Taute and the Rangers quickly jumped out of the gate and scored 14 unanswered points to take a 28-14 lead.
Lehman responded with a 45-yard touchdown from Zamora to Evans, which brought the Lobos with a score at 28-21.
But Lehman couldn’t get any closer to the Rangers, as the team plowed ahead to score the final 13 points of the contest.
Injuries played a factor for the Lobos, Raymond said, as the team was without its two starting linebackers. But he said injuries were not excuses for other issues, such as limiting Vista Ridge’s third down effectiveness.
Vista Ridge converted 50 percent of its third down conversions in the game. In addition, the Lobos also struggled with penalties, Raymond said. Lehman committed 50 yards in penalties on the night.
“We have to clean up those mistakes,” Raymond said. “You can’t make those errors at this level of football.”
Despite the struggles, Raymond said people saw the team “was not the same Lehman Lobos” of previous years.
“We had to make plays, that’s what it comes down to,” he said.
