Champion holds off Lehman for playoff-clinching win

Champion holds off Lehman for playoff-clinching win

JEFF B. FLINN Star Reporter

The Champion Chargers returned to their winning ways in a big way Friday, defeating the Kyle Lehman Lobos, 35-23 on the road to clinch a playoff spot in Coach Blane Ellis’s first season at the helm.

With Seguin’s 41-7 loss to the Wagner Thunderbirds on Thursday, the Chargers (7-2, 4-2 in Dist. 12 5A-1) can finish no worse than fourth with one game remaining on the schedule. The Chargers will host the 1-7 MacArthur Brahmas Friday at 7 p.m. in Boerne Stadium in the regular season finale. (Mac plays Saturday.)

On Friday, Champion jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead by scoring on its first three possessions of the game.

Senior quarterback Jordan Ballin found a wide-open Campbell Deberry from 17 yards out – the first of two Ballin-to-Deberry first-half touchdowns - on the sixth play from scrimmage. Nathan Bell’s extra point gave Champion the early 7-0 lead.

Running back Cole Riha gave the Chargers a 14-0 lead with 4:58 left in the opening quarter.

After the Champion defense had forced Lehman into a turnover on downs, Riha carried on five of six running plays to move the ball from the Champion 36-yard line to the 1, where Riha bulled in for his seventh touchdown of the season.

On its third possession, Champion again lit up the scoreboard. A 35-yard Ballin pass to wideout Sawyer Bolli moved the ball inside the 10-yard line. Three plays later, on the second play of the second quarter, Riha steamed in from the 1 for the 21-0 lead after Bell’s third extra point conversion.

After Lehman scored to cut the lead to 21-7 on a 21-yard TD pass from Collin Richardson to Noah Long, the Chargers drove 68 yards in eight plays, capped by the second Ballin-to-Deberry TD pass, this one from 28 yards out for the 28-7 lead.

With the first half winding down, Lehman tried an ill-advised fake punt on fourth down and failed, giving the ball back to Champion with just over two minutes to play in the half.

That turned out to be a huge mistake. With 25 seconds to play before half, Ballin completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kaleb Krause for the 35-7 halftime lead.

The second half, played with a running clock, saw Champion fail to maintain that first-half momentum. Lehman scored a third-quarter touchdown before adding a 35-yard field goal with 7:20 left to play to cut the Champion lead to 35-17.

Champion failed to move the ball on its next possession and Lehman made them pay for it, moving the ball and scoring another touchdown with 5:33 left to play. A failed two-point conversion left Champion with a 35-23 lead late in the game.

Lehman stopped Champion’s offense late in the quarter to get the ball back but could not execute a fourth-down conversion. The Chargers then ran out the clock to solidify the 35-23 win.

NOTE: MacArthur is 1-7; they play Saturday night, so they’ve only played 8 games so far.

Champion’s Kaleb Krause (13) scores a receiving touchdown right before halftime to help the Chargers take a 35-7 advantage into the break. The lead held and Champion secured a playoff spot.

Star photo by Chris Tilton