The Teague Lions were missing some key starters for the final game in the non-district season, and the Bullard Panthers took advantage of the new players in new places and defeated the Lions 35-20.
One welcome return to the Lion offensive threat was NY ‘Land Coaster, who was injured last week in Mexica and did not return. He was available and potentially on a pitch count for carries but he nullified that with a gritty 22 carry, 110-yard performance with a pair of touchdowns.
The Lions took the first possession and immediately got some success from Coaster. He carried four times on the drive for 24 yards and took the last yard into the end zone for the games’ first score.
The point after was no good and the Lions held onto a 6-0 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Teague put their defense on to stop the Bullard offense, and the Panthers gained a first down.
Eli Gilbert broke through and tackled Trace Reagan behind the line of scrimmage for a loss to force a Panther punt. The Lions would lose a fumble on that next possession.
Bullard had to go 64 yards on their final first quarter possession to take the lead. Senior running back Luke Stegall carried four straight times to inside the Lion five-yard line and Landis Newberry pushed his way in for the two-yard score to tie the game. Levi Kidd kicked the extra point, and the Panthers took the 7-6 late in the quarter.
The Panthers recovered the kickoff and had a short field in front of them. They reached the six-yard line when the drive stalled, and Lions took over deep in their territory.
The Panthers forced a fumble on the second play of the drive and took over at the Lion 15.
Three plays later, Stegall found an opening and slipped through for the three-yard touchdown run. Kidd kicked the extra point, and the Panthers led 14-6 early in the second quarter.
The Lions took the ball and drove for one of their most impressive drives of the year. They took 11 plays and moved 77 yards and took over four minutes off the clock. The Lions never faced a third down on the drive and Coaster scored on a one-yard run and the try for two would tie the score. The two-point pass was incomplete, and the Panthers held onto the 14-12 lead and the teams would go into the locker room with the two-point lead.
Bullard exercised their option for the second half and took the ball and marched down the field to match the Teague long drive. This possession took 14 plays and covered 63 yards with Stegall carrying the load for the majority of the drive. Micah Skaggs passes to Tucker Steinback for the four-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-12 following the extra point.
While the Panthers were in ball control mode to run down the clock, the Lions were stopping the drives and giving their offense chances to get back into the game. Facing a third down and eight, quarterback Garrett Winkler tossed over the Panther defense to Colton Smith and he outran the defense to complete the 61-yard touchdown and cut the lead to 21-20. Braden Gauntt ran in the conversion to close the gap to one.
Stegall carried for all five plays of the next drive, one of the carries for 30 yards to the four-yard line. Stegall ran those final four yards to extend the lead to 28-20. Bullard added a late fourth quarter touchdown to close out the 35-20 win.
The Teague Lions complete the non-district portion of their schedule at 3-2. They will take a much-needed week off before district play begins. On October 10, the Lions return to the field at home to take on the unbeaten Fairfield Eagles in the 9-3A Division I opener.
