The Lions kicked off the season with a 35-7 win against Connally High School. It was the first time that the Lions won their season opener since 2008.

On September 7, Leander continued their running attack that they used to dominate Connally. The Leander Lions shattered the Hendrickson Hawks, 35-0.

“The kids have been practicing hard. We’ll see if it shows!” Clint Harper, head coach, said.

This was Leander’s first home game of the season and there are many expectations for the Lions this season.

“The boys have nerve for this game,” Harper said.

Coach Harper was ready to see the team work together and defeat Hendrickson.

“I look forward to seeing all the people who enjoy watching football and supporting the team,” Harper said.

In the first quarter, the Hawks won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball. In their first possession, they were penalized twice for false start and punted the ball to Leander. The Lions responded with a 53 yard run by Tevin Smith, senior, and capped off by Caleb Woodward, senior, with a touchdown. Darrell Cleveland, senior, scored the second touchdown. In the Hawk’s third possession, Greg Kelley, junior, intercepted a pass by the Hawks quarterback and it ended with Leander-14, Hawks-0.

Making it to the 1 yard line was the closest the Hawks got to scoring a touchdown. Leander stepped in when Dylan Bauer caught a pass and ran for 44 yards.

While Leander already had a score of 27-0, they were helped when a safety was given to them by the Hawks.

Ricky Piron, junior, finished out the game with a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Lions had the Connally Cougars for an appetizer, enjoyed the Hendrickson Hawks for dinner, and hope to catch the Manor Mustangs for dessert at Bible Stadium on September 14^th at 7:30 p.m.