Lehman’s Levi Medley made quite an impression during his varsity debut, rushing for 152 yards to lead the Lobos to a victory over Crockett. (Photo by Dominic Martinez)
by MARK CAUL
Levi Medley made sweet music against Crockett last Thursday night.
Medley, a transfer from Tennessee, rushed for 152 yards on 24 carries in his first varsity start and junior quarterback Matt Anguiano passed for three touchdowns as Lehman thumped the Cougars 32-16 at Burger Center last Thursday night.
“Levi came in and gave us the spark we needed running the ball,” Lehman head coach Steve Davis said. “We brought him up from the JV team and he really responded well. Now that he’s gotten a game under his belt, I think he’s going to be even better next week.”
After fumbling the ball during a 13-yard run on his first rushing attempt from scrimmage, Medley looked unstoppable.
“I was pumped to be able to go out there and perform with the varsity guys,” said Medley. “My linemen did a good job of opening up holes and I just was able to squeeze through them. I couldn’t have gotten it done without their good blocking.”
Medley’s rushing performance was the highest single-game total for a Lehman back in a varsity debut.
“He just ripped us apart every time he carried the ball,” Crockett head coach John Waugh said. “It seems like he gained 20 yards every time.”
After another slow start, the Lehman offense finally got itself in gear late in the first quarter as Anguiano tossed scoring strikes to Jaylon Hardaway and Julio Besa of 39 and 31 yards to erase an early deficit and eventually give the Lobos a 14-8 lead midway through the second quarter.
Anguiano went 10-for-16 for 149 yards passing in Lehman’s second win of the young season and was much more efficient than he had been in the previous two games.
From there, the outcome was never in doubt as the stingy Lehman defense spearheaded by Jon Frasier and Matt Riojas stuffed Crockett on seemingly every play for the remainder of the game.
“We had a good idea of what they would be running and our coaches put us in good positions to make the plays,” Riojas said. “I think they were starting to get frustrated in the second half so we took advantage of their mistakes.”
Riojas recovered two of the four Crockett fumbles and also collected four solo tackles on the evening. Frasier was brilliant as well – collecting a team-high nine solo tackles.
Crockett scored their first points of the season as Paul Wagner connected with Obioma Ugoala for a 29-yard touchdown and after Wagner bolted up the middle a play later for the ensuing two-point conversion, the Cougars had an 8-0 advantage.
After the Cougars scored again midway through the fourth quarter on a nifty fake field goal attempt with Wagner taking the snap from center and finding Ugoala all alone in the back of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. Wagner darted in for the two-point conversion and the Cougars were ahead 25-16.
But a few plays later, Lehman put the game out of reach late as Hardaway scored his second touchdown on an 18-yard sweep to close out the scoring for the Lobos.
The Lobos weren’t perfect, as they lost three fumbles and also committed 13 penalties.
“With the district we’re in, we can’t expect to keep committing the same mistakes and expect to win,” Davis said. “We still have a lot of work to do before then.”
The Lobos (2-1) will next play San Antonio Jefferson at Shelton Stadium on Friday.
