Lions Whip Oilers, 42-6
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LOVELADY – The Lovelady Lions welcomed the West Hardin Oilers to town on Friday, Oct. 25 for a District 12-2A DII matchup.
The district title had already been wrapped up by the Grapeland Sandies and with both Burkeville and Colmesneil struggling this year, this was a game for playoff seeding. The Lions came into the game with a 3-4 overall record and a 2-1 district mark.
The Oilers, meanwhile came into the contest with an overall record of 4-4 mark and a district mark of 2-1.
What looked like a good matchup on paper never materialized. The Lions dominated the Oilers from start to finish as Lovelady blasted West Hardin by a final score of 42-6.
With a light to moderate rain throughout the entire game, Lovelady stayed on the ground all night behind running back Josh Martinez and QB Slade Murray who was filling in for big brother Seth, out with a thumb injury.
Martinez got things going in the first quarter as he broke free on a 45-yard TD run and followed that up with a two-yard touchdown blast to make the score 14-0 after one period of play.
The Lions defense played a stellar game throughout the night and held the Oilers under 50 yards of total offense for the entire game. The one slip up was a short touchdown to Keaton Castilaw midway through the second quarter.
Prior to the Oilers’ lone score, Murray connected with Lataviouce Easterling on an 11-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. Martinez looked to finish off the scoring in the first half with a 45-yard dash gallop to the 15, but he was stripped of the ball.
Offensive guard Morgan Thrasher was blocking downfield when he spied the loose ball, picked it up and rumbled the last 15 yards to the end zone to make the halftime score 28-6, in favor of Lovelady.
The second half saw the Lions continue to dominate. Murray threw his second TD of the night – this time a 15-yarder to Nick Ochoa in the third quarter.
Meanwhile Martinez added his third touchdown of the night on a 46-yard sprint to the end zone to make the final score 42-6.
The Lions close out the regular season next Friday, Nov. 8 as they host the Evadale Rebels in a game that will decide who enters the postseason as the second seed out of District 12-2A DII. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHELLE MURRAY
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
