There’s pressure being the game of the week. A television crew, reporter and extra cameras all directed at you. But the Lions handled being the TXA 21 High School Game of the Week with flair, dismantling the 5A Lake Dallas Falcons in front of the Falcon’s home crowd, 41-0.
The Lions cruised with their high-powered offense. Gaining 467 total yards on the Falcon defense, the Lions made their mark as a playoff contender in this televised game against the large public school.
Senior Ricky Baker scores for the Lions in the first half of their game against Lake Dallas.
Senior Quarterback Wiley Green continued to prove that he has what it takes to lead this team. He threw for 295 yards with his favorite target being Senior Ricky Baker. Ricky collected 104 of those yards on nine receptions. Senior Ricky Baker said, “The team won just by preparing all week and executing our jobs, doing the little things right, catching passes, and taking advantage of the defensive scheme we were faced with.”
Sophomore Josh Cunningham outruns the Falcon defense earning just short of 100 rushing yards for the game.
On the ground, Junior Josh Cunningham cut in and out of the Falcons’ defense, leading the team with 94 rushing yards. He said, “I thought the offense did very well, especially the O-line. Without them doing as well as they did, we wouldn’t have been able to pass or run the ball like we did against Lake Dallas.”
The defense, led by Senior Jaime Cantu and Junior Matthew O’Reilly, shot down the high-flying Falcon attack. The defense put up impressive numbers with two interceptions and nine sacks. Matthew, who has three years of Varsity experience, shut down the Lake Dallas offense with 7.5 total tackles and one sack. Jaime earned TXA 21’s Player of the Game award with 6.5 tackles, three sacks and an interception. Jaime said, “The great coverage by our secondary forced the quarterback to hold on to the ball longer, and our defensive line throughout the night gave tremendous push for the linebackers and me to blitz, forcing the sack.”
Josh said, “I think that a lot of times people underestimate private schools and the skill that we have. I don’t think Lake Dallas was expecting us to be as good as we were.”
Coach Chris Jones was extremely proud of his defense. He said, “I think that what they took away from this game was that preparation is key. If you prepare correctly the week before then that preparation creates certainties when you step on that field on Friday nights.”
The Lions have since put up two district wins, Liberty Christian, 14-7, and Parish Episcopal, 53-7, and a close loss to the current State Champion Bishop Lynch Friars, 17-13, in a rematch of last year’s State Semi-final game. The Lions return home to Lions Stadium this Friday, October 20, at 7 p.m. against the Nolan Catholic Vikings.
