The Teague Lions broke open a tie in the second half and never looked back in a 39-7 win over the New Waverly Bulldogs at Lions Stadium in the home opener Friday night.
Teague had plenty of offense and a stingy defense that pushed them through the night. They were able to turn the Bulldogs away with four interceptions on the night and capitalizing at key times over the course of the game.
The Lions allowed the first score when they turned the ball over on possession when Brayden Leija was stopped short of the first down. The Bulldogs wasted little time and only needed one play to put the first points on the board. Quarterback Levi Brett dropped to pass and hit Ethan Petross on the far sideline for the 47-yard score. The point after was good and the Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead with less than three minutes gone in the first quarter.
Teague answered that score on their next possession with a 90-yard drive. Ny’Land Coaster was the workhorse of the drive with the first three carries and covered nearly 30 yards. Quarterback Garrett Winkler passed to Bryce Bates on a play that took the ball down to the Bulldog 15, a 47-yard pass completion. Winkler finished the drive with a 17-yard burst for the score. Alex Lopez kicked the extra point to tie the score at 7-7 in the first quarter.
Neither team could mount a drive that would put them in a position to score, and the teams entered the locker room with the score still tied at 7-7.
The Lion defense forced a three and out on the first possession of the second half and made quick work of good field position. Beginning at midfield, the Lions went back to the ground game and Coaster took off on a 26-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. Braden Gauntt caught a 17-yard pass inside the ten-yard line and Tripp Egbert completed the drive with a three-yard run to put the Lions ahead. Bates ran for the conversion, and the Lions led 15-7.
New Waverly drove near midfield before the Lion defense stopped them with a takeaway.
Jaden Cole picked off the pass and ran into Bulldog territory and started at the 47-yard line. Six plays later the Lion offense, all on the ground, got into the endzone on a Coaster four-yard blast through the Bulldog defense. Lopez added the point after, and the Lion lead grew to 22-7.
The fourth quarter was the time for some other players to put their name on the night. Brayden Leija scored on a six-yard run early in the fourth to extend the lead to 29-7. Lopez later added a 37-yard field goal and put the game solidly in hand at 32-7.
Teague had one more score before the night was over. Leija ran for 67 yards down to the five-yard line and Mario Cuevas ran the final five for the final points on the night and close out the game with a 39-7 win.
Coaster finished the night with 185 yards on 22 carries and touchdown.
The Teague Lions opened the season with the win and will take the long road trip to Tolar to take on the Rattlers. This was terrific game when Tolar won the game with a field goal at the buzzer.
(Photos by Jessica Risken)
