The Teague Lions opened the season knowing they had a tough schedule, but they found out they can be tough and battle the opponents each week.
The Lions home opener welcomed in the state finalist from 2018 Malakoff Tigers. Teague went into the game as a heavy underdog but played to a 14-14 tie at the half. It took a big second half from the Tigers to claim the 40-14 win.
Teague took the ball and were forced to punt, and Malakoff quickly had to return possession to the Lions via the punt. The punt never got more than five feet off the ground and touched a Lion defender and was recovered by Malakoff at the Teague 46-yard line. On the first play of the next possession quarterback Darion Peace threw to Andreas Garrett on the slant pattern but the tipped pass was intercepted by sophomore safety Juan Bernal the Lion offense took over.
The Lions went to the running game with Gelico Green running for a first down and sophomore Jarrett Bodine scrambled from the quarterback position for nine more. On the next play, Bodine threw down the middle of the field and dropped a pass into the arms of Drew Satterwhite for the 40-yard gain to the three-yard line. The play ended with a facemask penalty and the ball moved half the distance to the goal. Green took the handoff and scored on the two-yard run for the first points of the game. Roberto Escobedo added the extra point for the 7-0 lead with 4:56 remaining in the first quarter.
The Teague defense continued to apply pressure and forced a punt and the offense went back to work. Bodine escaped pressure and dumped a screen pass to Green at the Teague 32, and he rumbled to the Malakoff 26 with a facemask penalty added to it inside the 15-yard line. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 23 and Bodine connected with Satterwhite for the score. The leaping catch over the defender put the Lions ahead of the state finalist 14-0 near the end of the first quarter.
Malakoff did score before they would begin the second quarter when Peace passed to Riggin Smith for a 28-yard touchdown. Hector Romero added the point after and the was cut in half at 14-7.
Teague stalled on offense and the Tigers were driving until Satterwhite became a receiver again, except this time it was on the defensive side when he picked off a pass in the end zone, stopping a Tiger drive early in the second quarter.
Malakoff tied the score before the end of the half on a seven-yard run by Keevie Rose and the extra point tied the game. Teague had a deep drive at the end of the half but neither team could score so the teams took to the locker room tied at 14-14.
In the second half, it was all Malakoff. Iverson Sparks intercepted a pass in Teague territory on the first possession and returned it to the Lion 3. Rose added the touchdown and the lead that would hold throughout the rest of the game. Rose added a second touchdown in the third quarter with a ten-yard run.
Peace would toss a couple of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to set the final score. Garrett caught a 40-yard pass early in the fourth and Jaylen Mosley caught a 25-yard scored and the final score was a Tiger win 40-14.
The schedule stays interesting for the Lions as they take to the road for the first time on the season. It is a short trip to Mexia to take on the Blackcats. Mexia lost to Cameron Yoe in their season opener 34-21.
