The Teague Lions exploded for 25 points in six minutes in the second quarter and shut out the Kemp Yellowjackets 53-0 and celebrated Homecoming on a rainy Friday night.
The day produced rain and thunderstorms for most of the day and the rain persisted into the evening but it did not dampen the spirits of the Lion faithful. Teague remains a game back of the Malakoff Tigers and will set up a huge game in Fairfield when the face off against the Eagles. Malakoff, Teague and Fairfield have all clinched playoff spots and the winner of the Teague and Fairfield game will determine the remaining team.
A Teague Lion win puts the Mexia Blackcats in via the tiebreaker by points and the finish would be Malakoff, Teague, Fairfield and Mexia. A Fairfield win would put the Eagles in a tie for second and they would go as the runner up with the first tie breaker being head-to-head competition. Mexia and Groesbeck would be tied for the final spot and the Goats would go to the playoffs via their head-to-head overtime win in the district opener.
The Lions took the ball first and made quick work of the drive. On the first play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Zak Leija found Caden Gonzales for a 31-yard play down into Yellowjacket territory. Shamar Davis would finish the drive with a six-yard run for the first score of the game. Leija added the conversion run and Lions took a quick 8-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
Kemp went three and out on their first possession and had to punt and then the Lions would fumble possession back to the Yellowjackets at the Kemp 34. The Teague defense would smother the Kemp offense all evening long and Kemp would punt again.
Teague had one long drive in the final few moments of the first quarter and were faced with a fourth down at the Kemp 45-yard line. Leija lined up in punt formation and called for a fake and tossed a pass over the top to Tylin Randle for 23 yards down to the 22-yard line, however, the Lions would turn the ball over on downs.
Taking advantage of a Randle interception, the Lions moved downfield and on the direct snap to J’Kybryen Harris, raced 12 yards untouched for the touchdown with 7:56 remaining in the half. Leija passed to Harris for the conversion and the lead stretched to 16-0.
Teague would use that touchdown to begin a scoring party for the final six minutes of the half. The defense would slice in and Emaje Holmes knocked the ball free and Hayden Lummus recovered at the Kemp 25. Lummus would finish the drive from the backfield as he busted into the endzone from a yard away and Leija added the conversion run for the 24-0 lead. The kick was fumbled and Kemp took over at the two and were promptly stopped in the endzone for a safety when Holmes added a second big play in just a couple of minutes.
Following the free kick, Teague had the ball in good field position after a good return. Harris added his second touchdown of the half on a 17-yard run with 4:20 remaining in the half. Henry Cordona added the point after to put what would become a 33-0 halftime lead.
Teague took to the big play on their first possession of the second half. Davis eluded a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and then ran past the defense on a 69-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 40-0. Harris would add his third touchdown of the game midway through the third and the teams would decide to run the clock for the remainder of the contest.
Kemp had their impressive drive down inside the Teague 10 but quarterback Deacon Thompson was intercepted at the two-yard line. The Lions used the remainder of the clock running the offense, featuring Ke’Mauri Evans. He would score the final touchdown of the game on a ten-yard run. The point after was blocked and the final score would read 53-0.
The only game that matters in 8-3A Division I is the battle of Freestone County. Teague will travel to Eagle Field to take on the Eagles on Friday night. A Teague win secures the Lions a second-place finish in the district race.
(Photos by Jessica Risken)
