By Josh Beavers
SIBLEY — Montez Thompson ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns Friday night, carrying the Waskom Wildcats past Lakeside 24-14 in a game full of questionable calls going against only one team – the host.
Waskom made the 60-mile drive over from East Texas on Interstate 20 and left with a win. Lakeside ran for 254 yards, better than Waskom’s entire ground game. The Warriors also put the ball on the ground three times, gave it up twice on downs, and watched officials erase a touchdown and a punt return that would have changed the night.
Lakeside took the opening kickoff at its own 20 and needed one play to announce itself. Eric Jones broke loose for 33 yards. Two carries later he added 15 more. Levi Bogdan then found Brandon Jackson for a first down at the 29.
Malik Thorn answered on the very next snap, scoring from 20 yards out. Levi Arender’s extra point made it 7-0 with 6:06 left in the first quarter.
Waskom got nowhere on its first possession. The Wildcats returned the kickoff to their own 32 and ran into a wall on consecutive plays, with Jones and No. 20 Stanley Owens leading the swarm. A false start on third and 11 backed Waskom up further, and No. 60 Caleb Barber made the stop to force the punt.
Then Lakeside muffed the punt. Waskom recovered at the Lakeside 16 and had a short field for free. Barber came up again with a stop on third and long, holding the Wildcats to a 22-yard field goal. Lakeside led 7-3 with 3:02 to play in the opening quarter.
The Warriors could not answer. Three plays and a punt gave the ball back, and Barber made another tackle on the return. Waskom finally found room. Its back broke into the open for a long gain to the Lakeside 43, then went around left end to the 16. Three plays later Thompson scored from the 2. The point after put Waskom ahead 10-7 with 8:40 left in the second quarter.
Lakeside answered with its best sustained drive of the half, crossing midfield and burning more than four minutes. Thorn carried to the Waskom 40 on a fine run, and the crew threw a blindside block flag that few in the stadium understood. Combined with other penalties, that pushed the Warriors back to something close to first and 40.
Three plays later, with the same official standing roughly three yards from the play, a Waskom defender dragged a Lakeside runner down by the collar. There was no flag.
Gage Williams punted, and Waskom went to work from its own 26.
On second down Thompson swung around left end and ran 48 yards to the other 26. Two plays after that he scored from 27 yards out with 28 seconds left in the half. Waskom led 17-7.
The short kickoff that followed gave Lakeside good field position, and Thorn nearly made it count. He hit the middle and was shoestringed down at the 38, one step from open field. The half ended with a shotgun snap sailing over the quarterback’s head.
Lakeside came out of the locker room playing its best defense of the night. Jones dropped a Waskom runner for a loss and forced a punt from deep in Wildcat territory. Owens fielded it and nearly took it back for a score. Another blocking in the back call brought it back to the 50.
The drive kept going anyway. Bogdan hit Jones on a long completion, and a sack made it third and 12. Waskom finally drew a penalty, pass interference at the 10, which gave Lakeside a first down. The Warriors fumbled it away before they could use it.
Lakeside got the ball right back when Waskom went three and out. Jones returned the punt to the 38. Three plays gained little, and a fourth-down pass to Jones came up short. Waskom took over at its own 25, ripped off two long runs, and Thompson scored again from 25 yards with 57 seconds left in the third. It was 24-7.
The fourth quarter opened with life. No. 22 Dy’kyshiun Banks broke a run across midfield, a face mask penalty moved it further, and Thorn went more than 40 yards for the touchdown on the first play of the period. Levi Arender’s kick cut it to 24-14 with 11:54 on the clock.
Owens sacked the Waskom quarterback at midfield to force a fourth down, and Lakeside had its chance. The Warriors fumbled twice more in the final minutes and never threatened again.
Thorn finished with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He is a freshman. Through two games he has run for 206 yards and three scores. Jones added 53 yards on five carries and caught two passes for 35 yards.
Barber was everywhere, finishing with 16 tackles and a tackle for loss. Owens had six tackles and a sack. Nohlin Keen added seven stops.
LAKESIDE STATISTICS
Passing: Levi Bogdan 3-for-8, 46 yards.
Rushing: Malik Thorn 19 carries, 150 yards, 2 touchdowns. Eric Jones 5 carries, 53 yards. Jaden Clark 7 carries, 27 yards. Dy’kyshiun Banks 1 carry, 20 yards. James Roberson 1 carry, 4 yards. Team totals 33 carries, 254 yards.
Receiving: Eric Jones 2 catches, 35 yards. Brandon Jackson 1 catch, 11 yards.
Defense: Caleb Barber 16 tackles, 1 tackle for loss. Nohlin Keen 7 tackles. Stanley Owens 6 tackles, 1 sack. James Roberson 6 tackles. Eric Jones 5 tackles. Gage Williams 5 tackles. Peyton Campbell 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
Kicking: Levi Arender 2-for-2 on extra points. Gage Williams 2 punts, 41.0 average.