Lehman Lobos
By Moses Leos III
The Friday night lights at Shelton Stadium shone bright on the Lobos as they took on Canyon Lake in their first and only scrimmage of the season.
Players enjoyed the moment, as they were able to play against someone other than their teammates.
“It’s exciting. We were all excited. To see someone else, you want to go after them,” running back Paul Brown said.
Lehman took the field with some nerves in mind. Head coach Todd Raymond described the team as “jittery” during warm-ups. The unease extended into the initial scripted play portion of the scrimmage.
Yet, when the Lobos got a chance to play in a simulated half, the nerves dissolved, with players showing their much-awaited potential many fans wanted.
Lehman took little time to prove itself on the field. The Lobos stormed 75 yards on their first drive, with running back/quarterback Paul Matthews capping off the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to give Lehman a 7-0 lead.
The fast pace was the theme of the night. Raymond wanted to keep the tempo on the Canyon Lake defense. He was pleased at the way the Lobos wore down the Hawk defense.
“Offensive line did a good job. I’m proud of the way our kids responded,” Raymond said. “We wore them down. They struggled with our fast pace.”
On defense, the Lobos tried their hand at stopping an all-out run attack from the Hawks. It was a difficult task, as the Lobos had little preparation for the multiple-back formations Canyon Lake threw at them.
“The defense [we ran] today, it’s something we don’t usually learn,” Linebacker Tyler Hyss said. “We did well to overcome adversity.”
Raymond was impressed at the physicality of the defense, which held Canyon Lake to only one touchdown in the simulated half. While a few big plays were conceded, he was pleased overall.
“Super proud of kids defensively,” Raymond said. “They felt good about themselves. Our camaraderie as a team was much better than it was.”
Lehman’s offense continued harassing the Hawks defense. They used a balanced mix of plays, using the improved arm of Jeremy Schilhab, and the rushing strengths of Brown and Hyss.
“It’s how much want you have after first contact,” Brown said. “I fight for my team. If I see someone in my way, [and] I can’t get around them, I’ll go through them.”
While the Lobos were unable to convert their latter chances into scoring drives, the team was satisfied with the eventual 7-7 tie. Working through mistakes and fine-tuning the offense will continue to be the goal.
“[The scrimmage] was good. We had some mistakes, but we will go back and fix them,” Schilhab said. “I like what we did tonight.”
Lehman will now work on execution and attention to detail on offense. Raymond aims to see improvement prior to the season opener this Friday.
Working on limiting mental mistakes will also be a focal point, as will staying healthy. Six Lehman players were unable to suit up against Canyon Lake on Friday. Raymond hopes to get three of them back next week.
Now the Lobos must change mentality toward next week’s opponent in Cedar Ridge. Going from a grind it out, run style offense to a high-tempo pass machine is quite the transition. Raymond understands the challenge, but feels the Lobos are up for it.
“[Cedar Ridge is] going to be good. It’s going to be a great challenge,” Raymond said. “Our kids are looking forward to those challenges. They are no longer afraid of them.”
