By Moses Leos III
Emotions were high on Oct. 29 as the Lehman Lobos completed their home schedule by hosting the Austin Maroons at Shelton Stadium.
But Austin quarterback Beau Kahlbacher stole the show as he tossed seven touchowns in the Maroons’ lopsided 77-13 win over Lehman.
The Lobos (0-9, 0-7 in 14-6A) continue to search for their first win of 2015. Lehman will look to avoid a winless season, and end a 15 game losing streak, as they travel to play at Westlake on Friday.
Lehman’s woes continued against Austin as the Lobos were outgained and outgunned in the game.
The Maroon offense throttled the Lobo defense by amassing 681 total yards of offense.
Kahlbacher provided the spark for Austin as he went 19 of 23 for 425 yards passing and seven touchdowns through the air. He also added 22 yards on the ground on two carries and scored a rushing touchdown.
Four different wide receivers caught touchdown passes for the Maroons. Senior Rudy Saenz and Joshua Jacobs each caught two touchdown passes. Saenz had five receptions for 133 yards.
On the opposite end, Lehman’s offense could only amass a paltry 134 total yards. But guiding the Lobos was running back Bryan Mendoza, who utilized a bruising rush attack to gained 125 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Penalties dominated the pace of play as both teams combined for 19 penalties for 180 yards. Included in that total was the ejections of four players, three from Austin High, following a skirmish along the Lehman sideline in the first half.
But Austin didn’t take much time to build a healthy 21-0 lead after a quarter of play. The Maroons increased their lead to 28-0 before Lehman pulled themselves off the canvas.
An eight-play, 60-yard Lehman scoring drive was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Jacob Zamora. The touchdown broke a seven quarter scoreless streak for Lehman. Austin’s lead was cut to 28-6 after a blocked extra point.
The Maroons then followed by scoring the final 21 points to close the first half. Austin led 49-6 and continued to pour it on. An 83-yard touchdown pass from Kahlbacher to Saenz increased the Austin lead to 56-6.
Lehman scored its final touchdown on an 80-yard kickoff return for a score by Felipe Garza.
