The Teague Lions have battled through injury and illness and could not have enough steam in the battle against the West Trojans. West built a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 49-20 win to earn the third place spot in District 11-3A Division I.
Teague high school cancelled classes on Friday due to the sickness within the district and that did have an effect on the game with the Lions missing some key players on the offensive line that were not even in the building on game night.
West took the ball first and promptly put some points on the board. The running dominated offense handed the ball to Trey Janek and he raced 39 yards for the touchdown. Colby Skarpka added the extra point and the Trojans had the early 7-0 lead only 41 seconds into the contest. Janek would add a second touchdown from 16 yards for a 14-0 lead.


Teague and West exchanged a possession and the Lions picked up their initial first down of the game on a pass to Nemier Herod from Jake Callahan to convert a third down. The drive would stall and Drew Satterwhite punted the ball down inside the five and pinned the West offense deep in their own territory.
West quickly flipped the field on the first play of the drive. Janek took the ball and ran through the Teague defense for a 90 yard run and was tackled by Satterwhite at the Teague five yard line. A couple of plays later, quarterback Landon Edwards pushed his way in on the quarterback sneak to build the lead to 21-0.
The Lions could not get moving offensively and Callahan was under pressure the entire half and the running game was held to minimal yardage. West would add two touchdowns in the second quarter, the first a 14 yard run by Lawson Kendrick and the final score of the first half was a pass back to Janek on the screen play and it went for 39 yards with 12 seconds remaining in the half.
Trailing 35-0 heading into the second half, the Lions could have folded the tent and taken a fourth place finish in the district standings but that was not the case. On the first play of the second half, Callahan dropped a short pass to Satterwhite and he used his speed to outrun the defense on a 62 yard catch and run. Roberto Escobedo added the extra point and the Lions cut into the lead at 35-7.
West went to the air on the next possession and Nemier Herod leaped in the air and pulled the interception to give the Lions the ball back. Herod had the longest run on the night with a 47 yard bolt to the West 32. After a touchdown run was called back on a run, the West defense was called for pass interference and Teague had a first down at the West 21. Callahan found Satterwhite a second time for the 21 yard score and began cutting deeper into the lead at 35-14.
Hope began to spring when the ball bounced off of a West returner on the kickoff and the Lions recovered at the West 46. The possession was turned over on downs on a great open field tackle of Satterwhite by Billy Gann of the Trojans.
The Trojans completed a long drive on the first play of the fourth quarter when Janek scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 27 yard run to extend the lead to 42-14.
Teague would quickly answer on a fourth down pass from Callahan to Juan Bernal across the middle into traffic and he made the catch and took a big hit but held on for the touchdown.
Janek would add a fifth touchdown late in the fourth to set the final score of 49-20.
Whitney claims the district title and Grandview is the runner-up. West with the win over Teague will take the third place spot and Teague earns the final playoff bid with a fourth place finish.
Teague will travel to Waco ISD stadium next Thursday to take on the District 10-3A Division I champion Troy Trojans at 7:30pm. The other matchups are Whitney against Lago Vista and West will draw the Cameron Yoemen. Grandview will play Rockdale in a battle of past state champions and will be one of the most interesting first round matchups in the state.
(Photos by Monte Calame)