Brandon Hamilton has been a bright spot for Lehman during summer workouts. The Lobos play host to Cedar Ridge in their season opener Friday night at Shelton Stadium beginning at 7:30 p.m. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
by WES FERGUSON
FISCHER – Todd Raymond was balancing a couple of thoughts as he assessed his first scrimmage as Lehman’s new head football coach last Friday against Canyon Lake High.
His team’s rugged physical play against Class 3A playoff contender Canyon Lake gave him cause for optimism. That’s important, with the Lobos planning their first game of the regular season Friday night against Cedar Creek at Shelton Stadium.
But a handful of broken coverage assignments, more than a few offensive penalties and other miscues against the Hawks reminded Raymond just how far this young team has to go as it adjusts from the smash-mouth style of his predecessor to Raymond’s more cerebral approach to the game.
Lehman failed to score during the scrimmage, and two quarters of live football ended with Canyon Lake ahead 14-0 at Hawk Field.
“We moved the ball, I promise you,” Raymond said. “We were doing good things, and then we get a holding penalty. We jump offsides. We line up in a formation wrong, just stupid stuff like that. It’s all mental, and it’s all correctible. That’s the good thing about it.”
The Lobos defense caged up the Hawks for much of the night, especially during several series of set plays before the start of the live half.
On the Hawks’ first practice series, Lehman linebacker Nick Tamez blitzed and sacked veteran quarterback Branson Belcher to force the Hawks to reset their offense at the 30-yard line. But Canyon Lake responded immediately with an untouched, 70-yard touchdown run up the middle of the field. The Hawks scored again minutes later on Belcher’s 60-yard touchdown toss.
With the Lobos trying to get something going on their first turn with the football, quarterback Josh Guerrero completed passes to Brandon Hamilton and Kelton Powell but also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
“I was supposed to look at the linebacker, but I was looking at the corner instead,” Guerrero said. “It was a bad read.”
Canyon Lake began figuring out how to move the football against the second-team Lobos on its next possession, but Lobos cornerback Malcolm Turner cut the drive short when he hauled in an interception in the Hawks’ end zone. Andrew Davila added a fumble recovery in the Hawks’ backfield.
Lehman’s second-team offense took over with Paul Matthews at quarterback, and his scrambling led the Lobos to a first down inside the red zone, but a deep snap sailed over Matthews’ head and the Lobos never got closer to the goal line.
Belcher and the first-team Hawks offense trotted back on the field, and he threw another 60-yard touchdown bomb. Canyon Lake’s second-team offense added another 70-yard scoring throw.
Take away those four big plays, and Canyon Lake barely budged the ball against the swarming Lobo defense. Instead, the practice portion of the scrimmage was a blowout in the Hawks’ favor.
Defensive tackle Kris Hernandez said he expected the Lobos to do more to shut down Canyon Lake.
“It wasn’t as good as it could have been,” he said. “On their running plays I was getting double-teamed, and I just couldn’t stop them. We need to focus more.”
During the live half, a 45-yard passing completion set up Belcher’s quarterback dive into the end zone, and Hawks running back Casey Coffee also crossed the goal line on a short run, after a defensive pass interference call helped Canyon Lake move into scoring position.
“I was expecting there to be issues like this,” Raymond said. “I was expecting them to be a little overwhelmed or nervous at times, but that’s why we do this. It’s a glorified practice. The kids have bought in. They’re trying to do right. And for the most part I was pleased with the physicality of the game. We just have to correct the mental mistakes.”
On the offensive side for the Lobos, wide receiver Brandon Hamilton made a few acrobatic grabs to haul in passes from Guerrero. Guerrero said his pass protection was great and he’s learning to see more of the field when he drops back to pass, and it’s reassuring to know Hamilton has sticky hands.
“I can throw to him without even looking,” Guerrero said. “He’s just there. I have a whole bunch of confidence in Brandon and (fellow wide receivers) Kelton and Tyler (Dodero). They haven’t let me down one time yet. We just have to keep going and working harder.
“Physically, we didn’t really get beat tonight,” he added. “We got beat in our heads. We need to get everything together in our minds, and we’re going to have a good season.”
The Lobos’ real test will come at 7 p.m. Friday when they host Cedar Ridge in the season opener at Shelton Stadium.
Raymond said Cedar Ridge, a new Class 5A school in Round Rock, will suit up several younger brothers of players he coached at Round Rock Stony Point.
“They’ve got some athletes, and they’re going to be tough,” he said. “We’ve just got to learn, learn, learn.”
