Hays linebacker Mark Oldham corrals Lehman running back Levi Medley during the Rebel win over the Lobos Friday night at Shelton Stadium. Hays held the Lobos to 63 yards total offense in the second half in the comeback victory. (Photo by Tony Smith)
By JASON GORDON
Lehman gave Hays all it could handle in the first half Friday night at Shelton Stadium, but in the end it was two key fourth down plays in the second half that doomed the Lobos.
The Lobos took a lead into halftime for the first time ever against the Rebels, but a failed fourth down conversion deep in their own territory helped lead Hays to a comeback 27-14 victory in front of more than 6,000 fans.
With the game tied 14-14 midway through the third quarter, Lehman head coach Steve Davis’ gamble to go for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 26 yard line backfired as Austin Reyes stuffed Matt Angiano’s quarterback sneak for no gain.
Soon after, Torrance Smith, who finished with 122 yards rushing for the Rebels, scored on a sweep from 4 yards out and Hays led 21-14.
“That fourth down stop broke their spirit,” Reyes said. “We had all the momentum after that.”
Davis said he was confident his team, which gained 198 total yards in the first half, could pick up the yards it needed on fourth down.
“We were chewing up yards on the ground in the first half,” Davis said. “Matt had it, he just stood up too soon. We missed it by a few inches, and those few inches were big in this game.”
It was a fourth-and-10 conversion that keyed Hays’ next drive when Caleb Kimbro drilled a pass to Ty Green that set up a short Smith TD run, and the Rebels led 27-14 late in the third quarter.
The Hays defense took over after that.
The Rebels (3-2, 1-0 27-4A) forced Lehman to punt on two straight drives and a Lobo incomplete pass on fourth down late in the game sealed the win.
Hays, which trailed 14-7 at halftime, allowed only 63 total yards in the second half, stuffing the run and pressuring the quarterback with equal effectiveness.
Lehman running back Levi Medley, who had a total of 344 rushing yards in the Lobos’ previous two games, rushed for 74 yards on 15 carries against the Rebels. Medley missed much of the second quarter and some of the third after suffering a sprained ankle.
“I think the way our defense played in the second half was the key to us winning the game,” Hays head coach Bob Shelton said. “They definitely came up big when we needed them to.”
Lehman took its 14-7 lead into the locker room on the strength of two touchdown passes from Anguiano to Harvest Trammell.
The first came after Hays running back Tony Garza was stuffed at the 1-yard line on the first play of the second quarter on fourth-and-3.
From there, the Lobos went on a 99-yard scoring drive capped when Anguiano lofted a beautifully-timed 14-yard touchdown to Trammell to put Lehman up 7-0.
After Taven Mayberry’s 57-yard kickoff return led to a Mason Cervenka 10-yard option keeper for a Hays score that tied it 7-7, the Lobos went on the prowl again.
Lehman marched down the field right before the break and Trammell hauled in a 7-yard TD pass from Anguiano with 19 seconds left in the second quarter and the Lobos led 14-7 at the break.
Hays defensive end Alan Marin said the Rebels didn’t panic at halftime.
“We knew we were the better team,” Marin said. “We knew we could take over and that’s what we did.”
The Lobos (3-2, 0-1 27-4A) are still winless against Hays in five matchups between the two schools.
“It always hurts when you lose to them,” Anguiano said. “This one hurts even more because we were on top and let it get away.”
Before Friday night, Lehman had never come closer than 20 points against Hays.
“I was very proud of the way we played the first half,” Davis said. “We just couldn’t get anything going on offense after halftime. I’m certainly proud of our effort and I hope we can build off this heading into the rest of the district season.”
Reyes said the Lobos earned his admiration.
“They came ready to play tonight,” he said. “I’ve never seen them play this hard against us and I give them a lot of credit.”
It wasn’t a storybook ending for the Rebels, as Hays found out it will have to play without second-leading rusher Tony Garza for the rest of the season. Garza suffered a broken ankle in the second half against the Lobos.
“With the loss of Tony, we all need to step up our game,” Hays center Alex Rocco said. “Now it’s more important than ever we play mistake-free football from here on out.”
Hays is back in action Friday at Alamo Heights, while Lehman hosts Canyon at Shelton Stadium.
