The Teague Lions returned home after a whirlwind win over a ranked team and shut out the Huntington Red Devils 50-0 to put themselves in the heart of the playoff chase on Halloween night.
Teague will travel to Diboll on Friday night, and a win puts the Lions as the runner up in District 9-3A Division I. A loss puts many scenarios in play regarding the Crockett Bulldogs, who own the tiebreaker over Teague and Palestine Westwood, who lost to the Lions last week. The picture will clear up on Friday and determine who and where the playoff teams will be playing to open the tournament.
The Lions forced a three and out and took the ball after the punt at their own 31-yard line. Two running plays set up a third and eight and senior quarterback Garrett Winkler found Bryce Bates for the 66 yards catch and run for the first score of the game. The pass to Blake Maggard for the conversion and the Lions led 8-0 with 8:40 remaining in the first quarter.
Huntington put together an impressive drive on the possession after the Teague score. They converted a fourth down and short and completed a pass downfield on a third down but reached the Teague 40 and were forced to punt.
Teague took the remainder of the first quarter and would go 66 yards in seven plays, all on the ground with Ny’Land Coaster and the Lion offense. Coaster scored on the three-yard run to open the second quarter and extended the lead to 15-0 after the Alex Lopez extra point kick.
The Red Devils fumbled on their next time with the ball and Tripp Egbert covered the loose pigskin and the Teague offense went back to work and promptly turned it over on an interception.
The teams exchanged possession as the time elapsed in the first half, but the Lions had one drive left in the final few seconds. Bates caught a 25-yard pass to the Red Devil 20 and Kade Kormos caught a 14-yard pass to move to inside the ten. A penalty moved them back and on the final play of the half, Winkler passed to Colton Smith for the 21-yard score and the Lions took a 22-0 lead into the locker room.
Teague took the first possession of the second half and quickly added to their lead. Bates hauled in his second touchdown of the game and the third touchdown pass for Winkler covered 47 yards and the Egbert run added to two more to the total and the Lions led 30-0 with ten minutes remaining in the third.
Huntington was pinned back inside their 15 and freshman quarterback Wyatt Stover set up a screen pass. His pass hit Kyler Tanksley in the chest, and he grabbed the ball and raced to the end zone for the 16-yard pick six and a 36-0 lead following the blocked point after.
Bates picked off a pass early in the Huntington drive and three Coaster handoffs put the Lions back on the scoreboard, the last carry going for the 11-yard score and the 43-0 lead.
Mario Cuevas added a 17-yard touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter after Huntington’s third turnover of the game. Cuevas had both carries on the drive and it closed out the quarter and the scoring at 50-0.
The fourth quarter had a continuous running clock and a long Huntington drive that ended in a turnover on downs.
The Lions will play at Diboll on Friday in the regular season finale and a lot is riding on the outcome for both teams.
(Photos by Jessica Risken)
