by Cedar Hill, TX – The Lancaster Tigers move to 2-0 in district play after they defeated the Cedar Hill Longhorns on Friday night in a one-sided affair.
The Rundown
The first two drives of the game were unfortunate for both sides as the Tigers fumbled and the Longhorns punted. The third drive, though, is when the Tigers took control of the game and never let go of the reins. The drive was capped off by a rushing touchdown from quarterback Joseph Hairston, which ended a rather uneventful first quarter.
The second quarter had more of the same, with Lancaster’s run game driving the majority of its offense. It showed once again on their second touchdown, a run from running back Joseph Foster from about the 10-yard line. The Longhorns would go three-and-out on their next drive and punt it away to Damarrion Goodson, who weaved through traffic to return the kick for a touchdown. Unfortunately, when he looked back from the end zone, there was a yellow flag on the field calling back his score for an illegal block in the back. However, the Tigers would still score on the drive with another rushing touchdown by Hairston from the 2-yard line. After a muffed snap on an extra-point attempt, the Tigers took a 20-0 lead into halftime.
The Longhorns would open up the second half with the ball for a brief period of time as Rashun Smart and Tavarren Wade teamed up for a forced fumble and recovery, giving the Tigers the ball deep into Longhorn territory. They would quickly capitalize on the possession with a 30-yard pass from Hairston to Khajamee Ross to put Lancaster up 27-0. Lancaster’s run game would get them another score, this time by Zachary East Jr. from the 2-yard line. After trying to get it going all night, the Longhorns’ passing game finally found success as Maurice Richey connected with Cayden Ethridge for a 23-yard touchdown. Cedar Hill would keep that momentum to finish the quarter, forcing a Lancaster punt and scoring again as Trenton Jones split the safeties for a 55-yard touchdown reception, bringing the score to 34-14 heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter would hold a single touchdown for each side, with Lancaster draining a lot of the clock with its run game and Victor Scott scoring a touchdown from the 5-yard line. Piaget Lejuene of the Longhorns was on the receiving end of a third touchdown pass from Richey, and that would close out the game at 41-21. Lancaster would end the game with 313 total yards, including 236 rushing yards on 52 attempts.
What’s Next
The district will take its bye week this week before returning to play the weekend of October 9th.
Lancaster (4-1) will gear up for one of their tougher matches of the year as they host the reigning state champion, DeSoto Eagles (3-2), who thrashed the Midlothian Panthers this week 52- 6.
Cedar Hill (1-4) on the other hand will travel to take Mansfield Summit (2-3) in what could be a late season tie breaker as both teams currently sit tied for the 4th and final playoff spot in the district.
