Steeves Leads Lions to Victory

David Steeves did just about everything for the Lions on Saturday! Steeves had the first 100 yard rushing performance of the year finishing with 113 yards and 2 TDs, he added 25 receiving yards, lead the team in tackles with 13 and 4.5 TFLs and added a sack on the day as well.

The Lions and Lewis Clark Valley Loggers both came out flat on Saturday, as both the Lions and Loggers in their first five drives combined for one first down and only 40 total yards of offense. 

Lewis Clark then came alive and threaten to add a score late in the first quarter as Leodan Gomez connected with Derek Gove for 49 yards, which Nick Howser made a great effort play to keep the Loggers out of the end zone bringing him down at the Lions 3. What ensued was the Lions defense digging their heels in and shutting the door on four straight plays as David Steeves stopped the first down play for a loss, Jamal Williams broke up the 2nd down pass attempt, Dakota King and Daniel Crenshaw stopped a slow developing sweep play on third down and then back to Jamal Williams breaking up the 4th down pass attempt in the end zone to give the Lions the ball back. The Lions saw the drive start at their own 4 but quickly gained two first downs on plays by David Steeves and TJ Martinez finding Dakota King for another first. After a poor punt by the Lions the Loggers were set up with the ball at the Lions 45. After a quick first down, Jamal Williams continued to make his presence known in the secondary as he went up and picked off his team leading 4th interception of the year at his own 10 and brought it back to the 25. 

The Lions had 75 yards to go to capitalize on the turnover and that is exactly what happened. TJ Martinez was key to the Lions success on the drive as he completed passes of 14 yards, 38 yards, and then 19 yards to set up a one yard plunge by David Steeves. Nick Howser started his perfect kicking day with his first PAT to put the Lions up 7-0. The Loggers looked to respond as they got a quick first down pass, and then the Lions defense force 3 straight incomplete passes highlighted by a huge 3rd down breakup by David Steeves. After a punt by the Loggers the Lions returned the favor punting the ball back to the Loggers. On the first play of the drive Nick Howser picked off the Gomez pass setting the Lions up at their own 34-yard line. The Lions picked up a first down on a unsportsmanlike penalty on the Loggers but the Loggers responded by taking advantage of an underthrown pass as Daniel Rizin picked off the pass at his own 42 and brought it all the way back for a 58 interception return for a TD, the Loggers added a 2 point conversion to take the lead. The Lions punted on their next drive as they gave the Loggers good field position but as they looked to add to their one point lead, Nick Howser picked off his second pass of the day on the goaline to end the half at 8-7.

In the second half, both offenses came to life as the Loggers started their drive on their own 38 and after 5 straight rushes they found themselves in the end zone and also added a 2 point conversion to put the score at 16-7. The momentum would not stick as Jeremy Blanchette returned the kickoff 55 yards setting up the Lions at the LC 35. The Lions needed just a 7 play drive highlighted by a 16 yard run on third down by David Steeves set up a QB sneak by TJ Martinez to bring the Lions back within 2 as Howser added the PAT. The Lions defense put the Loggers in a 3rd and long thanks to a Dakota King TFL, made the most of the opportunity as Jeremy Blanchette picked of the pass at midfield and returned it to the 35 setting up the Lions offense again. In three plays the Lions gained 31 yard with a 6 yard catch by Steeves then he added a 14-yard rush, followed by an 11-yard catch by Blanchette. The drive ended with a Jimmy King one-yard plunge to put the Lions up 21-16 after a Howser PAT. The Loggers answered quickly as they found room open on the ground as after 4 rushes for 65 yards the Loggers got into the end zone and also added the 2 point conversion making the score 24-21. 

Alex Wattley made sure the Lions would have a chance to respond as he returned the following kickoff 60 yard setting up the Lions at the LC 25. The Lions had the ball on the 21 and on fourth down the Loggers came up with a sack to give the ball back to the Loggers. The Loggers sputtered their first three plays on offense and had their own 4th and 6th and got a huge 20 yard gain. The Lions defense had enough, after a 4-yard loss, Eli Christensen forced a fumble and was scooped up by Colten Hoots at the 40. The drive looked promising as Steeves had an 11-yard rush putting the Lions at the 29; then Ramal Madd picked off a pass at the 5-yard line to stop the drive. The defense was up to task as they put the Loggers offense in reverse as they pushed the all the way back to their own 2 to force a punt. After a 34 yard punt the Lions had the ball at the 37-yard line. David Steeves then went to work as he accounted for 25 yards on the ground including the deciding 20-yard TD rush putting the Lions up for good at 28-24. 

The Lions defense soon forced a 3 and out and got the ball back at their own 40-yard line. David Steeves added 19 more yards rushing on the drive to help milk the clock then Jimmy King punted the ball to the Lewis Clark 15. The Loggers would have a chance to go 85 yard in the last three minutes. The Lions looked to be in control as they stopped a pass for no gain then Dakota King sacked Gomez for a 10-yard loss. The Loggers were not done yet as Gomez put a pin point pass down the sideline for a 30 yard gain to get them to their own 35. The very next play Eli Christensen came up with a sack that brought the Loggers back 13 yards, the Loggers had a quick completion for 12 yards. After an incompletion, the Loggers were faced with a 4th down, where Eli Owen hit the QB and Jamal Williams batted down the ball to give the Lions the 28-24 victory.

The Lions defense forced 5 turnovers on Saturday bringing their season total to 27 total forced. 

The Loggers out gained the Lions 292-276. The Loggers had 208 passing yards to the Lions 140. The Lions out rushed the Loggers 136 to 84 yards.

TJ Martinez threw for 140 yards; Jeremy Blanchette had 6 catches for 78 yards. 

David Steeves ran for 113 yards and 2 TDs.

David Steeves and Dakota King lead the team in tackles with 13 and 12 respectively. The Lions combined for 5 sacks with Dakota King and Eli Christensen both had 1.5 sacks. The Lions defense had 15 TFLs lead by Steeves with 4.5.

Tanner Twigg SID