By Moses Leos III

Lehman High head football coach Todd Raymond didn’t mince words when administering a challenge following Tuesday’s spring game at Lobo Field. 

As spring practice concludes, Raymond pressed his team to prepare themselves for a second rigorous season in 6A. 

With the Bowie Bulldogs on the schedule in week three, Raymond knows there will be little time to acclimate once summer hits. 

“Our expectations every summer with our kids have changed,” Raymond said. “In 6A football, you have to come back ready to roll.” 

But before the Lobos began to think about the summer, Lehman first closed out their spring season with their annual scrimmage. 

For the record, the Blue team came away with a 17-9 win over the Silver squad. 

But the final score didn’t mean as much as continuing to see development in the final spring practice of the year. 

For Raymond, the improvement of the defense during the scrimmage was noticeable. Despite limiting several players from the game to avoid injury, Raymond said the defense was “better than it was in the past.” 

“Our physicality in general has been a lot better than it’s been in the past,” Raymond said. 

Lehman’s defense pushed its way into the backfield, limiting several key plays during the scrimmage. 

According to junior defensive lineman Tristian Hernandez, improving and adhering to a faster tempo on the field has helped. It was an attribute seconded by senior Austin Lakey. 

“We’ve gotten a lot better at getting down to the faster tempo. I think we’re going to be pretty good,” Lakey said. “We held (the offense) down for a while. Little tweaks here and there, and we’ll be fine.” 

On the opposite side, the Lobo offense continues to develop its young players. Lehman’s coaching staff is also working to fill its quarterback vacancy. 

Lehman’s Tyler Henderson is one option, with freshman Ethan Roach another.

According to Raymond, Henderson could assist the Lobos with their strategy at quarterback, along as an option at wide receiver. But with a lingering hip injury, Raymond said it has limited what he could do. 

“It eliminates a big chunk of his game,” Raymond said. 

Also taking snaps was Jacob Zamora, who was working with the first team offense Tuesday. 

Building chemistry with his offensive line and wide recievers has been the focus for Zamora in the past few weeks. During the offseason, Zamora transferred from Hays to Lehman High. 

While he said the loss of wide receiver Jay Sayles has been “kind of hard,” Zamora said he’s been able to find common ground with many of his current teammates. 

“Moving from Hays, I grew up with some of these wide recievers,” Zamora said. “We still know each other and how we play.” 

It was Zamora who delivered one of the highlights of the spring game by tossing a 45-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. 

For Zamora, improving speed and quickness, along with accuracy is the next step. 

“I feel like I got better this spring,” Zamora said. 

Special teams also played a big factor in the spring game. Lehman kicker Mark Piedra opened the scrimmage with a 53-yard field goal.

But with some of the highlights, Raymond said there were several levels of improvement. 

Several drops from wide receivers were one issue Raymond cited. Another was  linemen missing assignments on run palys. 

But with spring ball behind them, Raymond hopes his team can be prepared for summer drills in August. 

“With everything we do now, you have to come back ready to go,” Raymond said.