The Eagles stuffed Lexington's speedy playmakers time after time, containing an offense that has the capability to be quite explosive. Yet in the end, Lexington got just enough out of the two plays it broke loose to squeeze out a 17-10 win over Salado on Friday night at Eagle Stadium.
"I thought our defense played their butts off except for two plays," Salado coach Jeff Cheatham said. "When you play teams that have that much speed, that's what happens. If you don't contain it, they're going to pop one on you and they got loose on us."
But all that matters now is the tough road Salado (2-5 overall, 2-1 District 25-2A) has the rest of the way in its search for a fifth straight playoff appearance. That starts with next week's game at Lago Vista, which was pounded 31-0 by Academy.
Make no mistake, though - a close loss to a potential playoff team could wind up costing Salado later.
"We've got three more ballgames, if we win those three, there's no questions," Cheatham said. "They're all big games from here on out."
The game turned in a matter of 27 seconds midway through the second quarter. Salado went from complete control and a 10-0 lead to a hole it never found way to dig out of.
After Salado failed to convert on fourth-and-10, Lexington took over from its 20-yard line. Running back Xavier Ward promptly took the ball 80 yards for a touchdown, escaping the grasp of several Salado players around the 30 and going untouched the rest of the way. That made it 10-7, though the fireworks weren't over yet.
Salado coughed up the ball on the first play of its ensuing possession, giving Lexington the ball near midfield.
Once again, Lexington needed one play to strike, this time a 40-yard pass from freshman Kogan Garrett to Dylan Islet. And just like that, Lexington essentially wrapped up the win with a 14-10 lead with 7:51 left in the first half.
Those two plays, though, were about all Lexington had to feel good about on offense.
Take away those scoring plays that added up to 120 yards and Lexington was held to 56 yards on the rest of its 43 offensive plays. Salado's defense forced eight punts and got an interception by Hunter Ward to end the first half and a fumble recovery and pick by Cole Calder. Also, Caleb Little, Shannon Ponder, Alex Stiles and Caleb Hayslip each produced a sack.
In all, Salado allowed 176 yards, 138 on the ground. Of Lexington's 33 rushes, 11 went for zero or negative yards.
Asked what he told his defense after taking a loss with an effort like that, Cheatham replied, "They did a great job. They did a great job."
Of course, it didn't help that Salado's offense - which had success in the first half on the legs of running back Calder - seemingly spent most of the second half going in reverse.
Salado managed just 12 yards of offense - 9 of which came on two of the last three plays - and one first down in the final two quarters. It punted on four of its six possessions.
On the night, Salado had 153 yards and booted the ball away eight times.
Sophomore Austin Silva, the area's eighth-leading rusher, was held to 17 yards on nine carries. Cole Brentham completed five of 18 passes for 15 yards, with an interception.
"They bring everyone in their house and they make you do things you don't want to do," Cheatham said of Lexington. "They played a good game."
Calder picked up 100 yards and a first-quarter score on 11 carries, all coming on a direct snap. In the second half, he had one carry for 3 yards.
"We're going to do what we've got to do to win," Cheatham said. "If it's (Calder) or Cole Brentham or whoever it's going to be, it's going to be somebody. It's not going to be one kid. It's that bunch of kids out there; it's all of them."
