Lions Devoured by Tigers, 41-6
Lovelady Drops District Opener
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LOVELADY – The Lovelady Lions welcomed the Tenaha Tigers to the Lions’ Den last Friday, Sept. 24 for the District 9A-DII opener for both teams.
The Lions came into the contest with a record of 3-1 while the Tigers stood at 2-2. It was a statement game for the Lions who wanted to show the gridiron world that they belonged in the conversation when the elite football teams of Class 2A DII were mentioned.
Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out the way Lovelady fans had hoped as Tenaha used back-to-back punt returns for touchdowns – midway through the first quarter – to take the steam out of the Lions as the Tigers blasted Lovelady by a final score of 41-6.
Tenaha opened the game with possession of the ball at their own 34 and marched right down the field for the game’s initial score.
On first down, Markevion Rasberry picked up six yards. Jeremy Patton broke free for 40 yards on second down and just like that the Tigers were in the red zone. Patton bulled his way for nine more yards and was followed by Rasberry who picked up seven. Patton then capped off the drive with a four-yard TD run and when Manuel Loredo knocked home the extra point, Tenaha led 7-0 with 10:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Following the kickoff, Lovelady opened at their own 35. Slade Murray picked up five for the Lions on first down but a chop block wiped out the gain. Shaun Easterling picked up five on the next play and then Murray connected with Jayton Crawford for 16 to move the ball to the 45 and give Lovelady a first down.
That was as far as the Lions would get. Easterling was held to a one-yard gain on first down while Dayvion Skinner was stopped at the line of scrimmage on second. Murray’s third down pass was incomplete and forced the Lions into a punting situation.
Disaster struck on the kick as Ja’tyrian Moore fielded the ball at his own 25, slipped a tackle and found a crease in the Lovelady punt coverage as he raced 75 yards for a score. Loredo’s PAT attempt was no good, but with 7:05 still remaining in the opening period of play, the Tigers now led 13-0.
Lovelady’s second possession of the game opened at their own 16. An offsides penalty against the Tigers moved the ball out to the 21. Easterling picked up three yards but Jordan Blackmon was held for no gain.
Skinner picked up five to move the ball out to the 28 and move the chains. Once again, however, the Lions’ offense stalled and they were forced to punt.
It was just like déjà vu, all over again on the kick. Moore fielded the ball at his own 36, dodged a couple of would-be tacklers and then scampered down the field for a 64-yard TD. Loredo’s XP was good and with three minutes left in the first, the Tigers extended their lead to 20-0.
Tenaha’s defense was relentless and forced a three-and-out from the Lions. Fortunately, on the third punt of the game, Lovelady was finally able to contain Moore and the Tigers took over on their own 30.
From there, Tenaha launched a time-consuming drive that ended with Patton plowing his way across the goal line at the 8:38 mark of the second quarter. Loredo’s extra point was good and increased the Tigers’ lead to 27-0.
A fumble on the Lions’ next possession gave the ball right back to Tenaha at the Lovelady 18. Two carries by Rasberry moved the ball down to the 10 and then Patton finished up the drive with a five-yard burst for six. The extra point was good and pushed the Tenaha lead out to 34.
The Tigers attempted an onside kick after their score, but Troy Shupak pounced on the ball at the 45 to give Lovelady great field position. The Lions simply had no answer for the Tigers’ D and when Murray’s fourth down pass fell incomplete, Tenaha took over at the Lions’ 48.
Trindon Claiborne moved under center for the Tigers and on first down he found Loredo for six yards. On the next play from scrimmage, Rasberry ripped off 35 yards to move the ball inside the Lions’ 10. After an incompletion, Claiborne connected with Jordan Ross for an eight-yard score and when Loredo nailed the XP, Tenaha led 41-0.
That was the way the half ended and when the second half began, it didn’t start out much better for the home team. Murray was picked off by Brikelian Kenney on the Lions’ first possession of the half.
The Tenaha coaching staff called off the dogs after halftime and the score remained 41-0 until deep in the fourth quarter when the Lions finally got on the scoreboard.
Starting at their own 40, Skinner picked up 10 yards on two carries. Blackmon added five more and got a boost when Tenaha was called for a facemask penalty.
With the ball now on the 30 of Tenaha, Skinner ripped off nine yards. Blackmon added five and then Skinner followed with back-to-back four-yard gains to set up a third-and-short. Unfortunately, Skinner was thrown for a loss on third down.
Determined not to be shut out, Blackmon picked up the fourth-and-three to give the Lions’ a first down at the three and on the next play, Blackmon bulled his way into the end zone to make the score 41-6 with 2:25 left to play.
Tenaha was able to run out the clock after the kickoff, as the Tigers defeated the Lions by a final score of 41-6.
The loss drops Lovelady’s record to 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in District 9-2A DII. The Lions are off this week but will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 8 as they travel to Colmesneil to take on the Bulldogs (4-0, 1-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
