The Lehman Lobos (0-2) suffered a 55-17 loss Friday due in part to a strong performance from the McCallum Knights (2-0).
Things looked promising for the Lobos early on when junior defensive back C.J. Scott recovered a fumble within the first two minutes of the game.
But Lobos were unable to score off the early turnover as the offense struggled to move the ball. On the other side, the McCallum offense executed consistently in the first half.
Knights senior quarterback Maxwell Perez scored three rushing touchdowns in the game. Senior running back Alex Julian ran the ball 15 times for 159 yards behind a strong McCallum offensive line. Perez also added a pair of passing touchdowns in the second quarter, with a 25-yard touchdown pass going to junior running back Deron Gage.
“McCallum is a good football team, hats off to them,” Lehman head coach Josh Kirkland said. “They’ve got great running backs and a good offensive line. We knew that coming in and they showed that when we got out here.”
The lone bright spot for the Lehman offense in the first half was a 31-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Diego Romero in the second quarter. Romero, who only played three quarters in the game, ended up with 45 yards rushing on 14 carries.
“We had a couple big plays running the football, but overall we didn’t consistently run the ball well,” Kirkland stated.
The second half closely mirrored both teams’ first half performances.
McCallum efficiently ran its offense while the Lobos struggled to consistently move the ball. The Lobo passing game showed potential when junior quarterback Daniel O’Neal connected on multiple passes to freshman wide receiver Bryant Lewis and senior tight end Justin Edwards.
O’Neal threw for 134 passing yards on 16 completions; Edwards caught four receptions for 32 yards, Lewis finished with 3 catches for 37 yards.
For the Knights, Perez finished the game with 225 yards passing and 4 touchdowns, pushing the quarterback to 7 total touchdowns. McCallum senior wide receiver Mason Bryant caught three passes for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns.
A nice surprise arrived for the Lobos in the fourth quarter when senior running back Kaleb Priestly came in to replace Romero.
“I think we found a little (running) back in him (Priestly),” Kirkland said. “We tried him some this week and threw him out there and the kid did well. I’m proud of him. He kept fighting. That’s what we are trying to sell to these kids.”
Priestly carried the ball 8 times for 84 yards, including a 53 yard touchdown run with a few minutes left in the game.
Kirkland looks for Lehman to work on tackling and consistently running the ball before next week’s game against Austin Akins (1-1).
“It’s just time to go back to work.” said Kirkland.
