Sophomore quarterback Lorenzo Nunez took charge of the offense once again and led his team throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
The Lion's Roar/Jonathan Rhodes
The high-powered offense of the Lions football team was too much for the Northwestern State Demons as they defeated them 49-20. The Lions scored 42 of their points in the first half and held Northwestern State to only 371 total yards on offense.
Head Coach Ron Roberts was impressed with how the Lions pounced on their opponent early in the game.
“I was pleased obviously with us playing the way that we did coming out of the gates,” said Roberts. “We had a lot of things clicking. We talked about coming out and clicking on all cylinders early. From special teams to defense and offense, everybody was going. We are trying to find out just how good can we be. Obviously, I’m very proud of our kids.”
The Lions defense only allowed the Northwestern State rushing game to have 67 rushing yards as 25 different players recorded a tackle. Senior defensive back Max Lyons had an interception and a sack while senior linebacker Sione Teuhema got his fourth sack of the season leading the team in sacks.
Roberts is not too surprised to see the team’s defense perform well against the run.
“I thought we had been playing well against the run very well the last couple of weeks,” said Roberts. “It was good to see because I thought they had two really good running backs, and I had a lot of respect for their offensive line coming into the ball game. We have a young defensive line, and every week, they are getting better. We saw it two weeks ago, and I knew it was coming. So, I’m proud of our kids all across the board.”
Sophomore quarterback Lorenzo Nunez helped the Lions to their season high 580 total yards and threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Nunez did it all in the first half completing eight out of 11 passes before sitting out the whole second half.
Performances like this are becoming common from Nunez, and Roberts is glad that they can depend on him to make big plays and run the offense.
“We got a lot of confidence, especially when he is behind center right now,” said Roberts. “We want to get to the point where we have confidence no matter who is behind center, and those are things we are still working on to make us a different ball club.”
11 different players rushed for the Lions in this game. Junior running back Julius Maracalin ran three touchdowns to the end zone, which ties his career high in single game touchdowns. Freshman running back Marcus Cooper led the Lions in rushes with seven for 140 yards while junior running back Darren Johnson also ran in one touchdown.
Senior wide receiver Juwan Dickey led the team with four catches for 123 yards. Senior wide receiver Jariah Tolbert caught the longest pass for an 88-yard touchdown. The other touchdown pass was caught by freshman wide receiver Damien Dawson.
“The running backs were explosive,” said Roberts. “Some receivers stepped up big time. We have been catching the ball a lot better than we have the last week or so. We kind of got thrown off when the quarterback is down injured so we are a little behind on that. Hopefully, we are hitting our stride, and we are looking forward to being consistent with this.”
Nunez credits his receivers running their routes perfectly and play calling to his personal success and the success of the offense against Northwestern State.
“The first four drives, I think I was 100 percent passing,” said Nunez. “Most of my reads were wide open. They were biting on the run a lot which made me pull the ball, so really it was just our people being wide open.”
Nunez believes that simply implementing the coach’s plans worked for him and the offense so far.
“We just come out here and execute what we have been doing in practice and what coach Barrett and the offensive coaches have been telling us what to do,” said Nunez. “The offensive line and running backs have done a very good job protecting me.”
So far, the running game for the Lions has been a group effort by at least three or four running backs. Cooper enjoys being part of a unit of players that make the team elite on the ground.
“It’s very fun because all of our running backs can go,” said Cooper. “In practice, it makes us compete even harder, and that’s what I love. I love competition. If we just keep it going, nobody can stop us but ourselves.”
The Lions return to Strawberry Stadium this Saturday to face the University of the Incarnate Word at 4 p.m. for their Homecoming Game. The Homecoming Parade will happen prior the game at 12 p.m.
Senior defensive back Max Lyons giving high five to his teammates who helped to hold Northwestern's offense to only 67 yards rushing and caused a turnover.
The Lion's Roar/Jonathan Rhodes