Lehman running back Richard Porche led the Lobos with 82 yards rushing, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 35-13 loss to St. Michael’s. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
By MARK CAUL
Friday night began a new year against a different opponent, but in the end it was an all too familiar result for Lehman football fans.
Private school St. Michael’s Academy took full advantage of a myriad of Lobo mistakes and penalties to cruise to a season-opening 35-13 win at Shelton Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
“I’m pretty embarrassed at how we performed offensively tonight, to be honest with you,” Lehman head coach Steve Davis said. “We just weren’t crisp with our throws and we never played inspired football in the second half.”
Crusaders tailback Luke Seeker finished with 113 yards rushing and two touchdowns while St. Michael’s defense keyed by Kyle Watson forced six Lehman turnovers.
Watson secured perhaps the most important turnover of the game when he intercepted a Matt Angiuano pass intended for Lehman receiver Harvest Trammell as the Lobos were driving for a potential go-ahead score with less than a minute to play before halftime. He rambled 35 yards untouched for a 14-7 St. Michael’s lead.
That play seemed to take the wind out of the Lobos’ sails and breathed life into the Crusaders.
“That interception was a game-changer for sure,” St. Michael’s head coach Ed McCabe said. “It gave our kids a lot of momentum after we had just let them drive down the field 80 yards on us.”
The Lobos scored their first touchdown of the season five minutes earlier as junior tailback Charles Williams secured a quick shovel pass from Anguiano and found the end zone from 7-yards out to cap an impressive 80-yard scoring drive for Lehman.
The key play on the scoring drive was Anguiano’s pass to Trammell on fourth and long from the St. Michael’s 38-yard line.
But from there it was all Crusaders, as the St. Michael’s defense pressured Anguiano into a miserable night in which he threw four interceptions and went 12-for-31 passing for 149 yards.
“They were very aggressive on defense and we couldn’t get much going once the second half began,” Davis said. “I’m going to expect my players to be ready to correct some things and bounce back on Friday.”
Junior quarterback Lucas Schiraldi scored twice on a pair of 1-yard runs as the Crusaders opened up the second half with 21 unanswered points to extend their lead to 35-7.
Senior fullback Richard Porche rushed for 82 yards on 12 carries to lead the Lobos.
“Anytime you can come up here and beat a Class-4A school at their place on such a big stage is just awesome,” McCabe said. “I’m very proud of what our kids were able to accomplish tonight and I hope we can continue this momentum into next week.”
Lehman travels to San Antonio to play Edison on Friday night while St. Michael’s will face their second consecutive Class-4A opponent in Austin Reagan.
