PHOTOS BY CHERI JAY-WIENECKE Lometa Hornets Brandon Faubion and Dalton Parsons clear a path for Eric Belyeu (5) to make a run to the goal line. Prior to last week's football game between Lometa and Covington, SixManFootball.com listed the Hornets as a 32-point favorite.

It wasn't enough.

Lometa covered the spread before the first quarter even ended and cruised to a 58-0 lead by halftime, giving the Hornets the victory thanks to the league's 45-point "mercy rule."

The Hornets ran only 12 plays in the game, amassing 296 yards of offense with 248 yards coming on the ground. Cody Brister led the team with five carries for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Eric Belyeu, Tommy Felan and Bubba Salinas each reached the end zone once for Lometa.

David Cruz connected with Brandon Faubion for a 48-yard touchdown on the team's lone pass attempt of the game.

Felan also scored on a 30-yard punt return.

Last week, head coach Wendell Bradley predicted his team would be victorious against Covington with relative ease because the game marked the Owls' first-ever conteset in six-man football, which is drastically different in philosophy from 11-man football.

Lometa High School football players break through the banner prior to the start of Friday's game against Covington. "It's not that we're just leaps and bounds above everyone else," said Bradley.

Last Friday, they certainly appeared to be.

Along with their offensive explosion, the Hornets' defense dominated, holding Covington to a total of 23 yards. The Owls ran the ball 17 times but could not get out of their own backfield on most attempts, finishing with minus 13 rushing yards for the game.

Lometa suited up 16 players on defense, and all 16 recorded at least one tackle, led by Ramiro Hernandez's and Felan's six tackles apiece. Belyeu finished with three tackles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

In the practices after the game, Bradley shifted his focus to next week's contest against Zephyr and the difficult schedule looming ahead.

"We're looking forward," the coach said. "We know that three of the next four weeks are going to be tough."

In addition to Zephyr, the Hornets will host Richland Springs, Cherokee and May during the month of September.

Bradley believes if his team can win two of the three games against Zephyr, Richland Springs and May, it will be mentally ready to make a run at winning the district title.

He knows, however, it will not be easy. "We can't do [what we did against Covington] against the competition we'll be facing," Bradley said.

Lometa's junior varsity team tied May 27-27 last Thursday. The Hornets trailed May 14-0 in the second quarter before rallying to tie the contest at 20-20 heading into the fourth quarter.

With approximately four minutes remaining in the game, Lometa took the lead for the first time but quickly fumbled the ball on the next possession, which allowed May to recover and score a final time.

Dillion Aldy led the JV with 117 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 14 attempts, while quarterback Dylan Straley completed three of nine passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.

2008 Varsity Football

2008 Junior Varsity Football Schedule