What We Saw: Lewisville 21, CA Johnson 14

Brandon Stockdale October 4, 2024 @ 11:47 PM

RICHBURG | Missed tackles, penalties, turnovers.   Those were some of the self-inflicted wounds that Lewisville overcame with a heavy dose of the run game and timely stops on defense, as they defeated CA Johnson 21-14 on Friday night.   The night started out slow for the Lions as [player_tooltip player_id='1249747' first='Zach' last='Rogers'] (pictured above) and [player_tooltip player_id='1267330' first='Jacorreun' last='Howze'] missed on a deep shot on the first play. And then [player_tooltip player_id='1467850' first='Elijah' last='Harper'] picked it off for CA Johnson a few plays later.    “I told the guys all week – you're going to get everybody's best shot. You won the region two years in a row. We can't come out and play down to our competition. To start the game off, that should've been a touchdown and it hit him in the hands. We left too many big plays on the offensive side of the ball on the field and defensively, every time we got them in third-and-long, we gave up a screen for a first down. It's just the little stuff, but the best thing about it is it's stuff we can fix,” Lewisville head coach Trent Usher said.   CAJ took advantage of a turnover on downs from Lewisville as [player_tooltip player_id='1360178' first='Keivonte' last='Bates'] found holes in the defense, culminating with a 16-yard run to give the Jackets a 6-0 lead with 1:59 in the first quarter. Jaylen Miller ran hard throughout the night on quarterback powers as the Jackets were content to keep it on the ground.   Following a huge kick return for Rogers to the CAJ 44, he connected with Ri'Quaris Harris for a 41-yard touchdown pass out to the flat, tying the game at 6 with 1:03 to play in the first quarter.    Rogers' athletic ability was on full display in the second quarter, all while fighting what Usher said was a back injury throughout the contest. He connected with De'Adrian Robinson for a 28-yard score where he scrambled around, eluded pressure and somehow found him in the left corner of the end zone to put the Lions up 13-6 with 6:37 to play before the half.   “He's a great player, man. What makes his job easier is the playmakers he has around him. Every time we need a play, especially down here (in the red zone) we put the ball in Zach's hands and he makes plays. Our offensive line did a great job later on in the game opening up holes where we can put the game away,” Usher said.   Jacob Craine blocked a punt in the end zone, resulting in a safety, extending the Lions lead to 15-6 with 4:11 to play in the first half. The Lions ran into special teams issues as a punt was blocked. Jadaelen Harper recovered a muffed punt for a touchdown, as the lead was cut to 16-14 heading to the halftime locker room.    SECOND HALF STALEMATE   The second half was mostly a defensive stalemate as neither offense could get much going, or when they did, they would hurt themselves with penalties.    [player_tooltip player_id='1393980' first='Ethan' last='Shipman'] recovered a fumble with 7:44 to play in the third, ending a lengthy drive for CAJ coming out of the locker room.   More turnovers highlighted the end of the third quarter as Ty'mon Hughes picked off CA Johnson. The preceding play was a [player_tooltip player_id='1360178' first='Keivonte' last='Bates'] interception.    Rogers would score from 2 yards out with 3:47 left in the contest to close the scoring. [player_tooltip player_id='1165159' first='Jordan' last='Strong'] made an interception on a fake punt to end the game with 1:37 left.

RICHBURG | Missed tackles, penalties, turnovers.