On Thursday, I was at Comalander stadium for a first round playoff game between the Steele Knights and the Clark Cougars. I am a Clark graduate (class of 1995) and to be honest, I knew they had no chance of defeating Steele in what would be called the upset of the year. I totally expected Steele to dominate as they have done all season (except in Week 0 when they lost by 1 point to the Madison Mavericks).
The Cougars scored on their first drive and they looked sharp, but they had no answer for the Steele offense or should I say the Steele running back, Justin Stockton. The Steele Knights defeated the Clark Cougars by a score of 52-6.
Justin Stockton had more yards than the entire Clark team did both at halftime and at the end of the game. That stat easily popped out to me because, I have never seen one player outgain an entire team. WOW!!!
Stockton was a freshman on the state championship team in 2010 and he will be running the ball at Texas Tech next year and he will be better then former Steele Knight and current UT longhorn running back Malcolm brown. You can quote me on that!!!
You know something, I am very proud that I was at Scott Lehnoff, the Steele head coach, first regular season win and also his first playoff win. He is gonna rack up the wins and when his coaching career is finished, he will be a legend and just maybe he will get a stadium named after him just like his parents, Robert and Glenda Lehnoff.
The Clark Cougars ran 49 plays for 221 yards. Brandon Valle, the senior running back, had 16 carries for 83 yards. He rushed for over 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns as a starter the past two seasons. I really think he is talented to play at the next level and hope somebody picks him up.
The Clark quarterback, Trenton Ford, had 10 carries for 71 yards and the lone touchdown. Ford will be returning next season as a senior. William Young, a running back, saw limited action but had 3 carries for 12 yards (the numbers don’t say it so I will…he is fast). He will likely be the starter next season.
The Steele Knights ran 46 plays for 559 yards. Justin Stockton, the running back, had 18 carries for 232 yards and 4 touchdowns. At halftime, Justin had 17 carries for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns (Clark had 161 yards at halftime). Please, let me do the math as stats are my job…232 minus 176 is 56, 18 minus 17 is 1, and 4 minus 3 is 1…so that is 1 carry for 56 yards and that was a touchdown in the 2nd half (and he didn’t play after the 7:05 mark in the 3rd quarter). WOW!!! Justin is fast and strong and I am gonna make a bold statement and say he is the best player I have seen this year so far!!
Looking at the Steele roster, several key players are sophomores, juniors and even freshmen and they all made a roar on Thursday night. LG Williams, the quarterback, is a junior…he had 6 carries for 69 yards and was 4 of 5 passing for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bysron Denley, a sophomore, had 3 carries for 74 yards and 1 touchdown. Another sophomore, Christian Edmondson, had 2 carries for 31 yards. Freshman, Travell Lumpkin, had 4 carries for 30 yards. Next year, all three will battle for the starting running back. WOW!!!
De’Angelo Wallace, a senior wide receiver for Steele, had 3 receptions for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wallace had been on the varsity since his sophomore season and is an extremely versatile player who can can play multiple positions.
I even noticed a familiar last name of Armstrong on the Steele roster…it was Tre Armstrong; Tommy Armstrong’s younger brother. Tommy was the starting quarterback in 2010 and 2011 and is now the starter at Nebraska.
The Steele Knights will play the undefeated Reagan Rattlers on Friday at Heroes stadium. Reagan’s quarterback, Ty Summers, has 44 touchdowns (13 passing and 31 rushing) and over 3,400 yards of total offense.
If you don’t have any plans on Friday, go to this game cause you will see the two most explosive players in San Antonio in Steele’s Justin Stockton and Ty Summers from Reagan. Oh, Ty will be a Rice Owl next season; probably as a running back.
I will be at D W Rutledge stadium Friday as the Judson Rockets host the Warren Warriors.