Stephenville blitzes Cleburne with touchdowns on the way to victory

Stephenville 53, Cleburne 20

Why Stephenville won: Stephenville scored its first three touchdowns in a span of just over 90 seconds early in the first quarter. After Stephenville running back Krece Nowak scored on a 73-yard touchdown run for a 15-0 lead, Cleburne fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Stephenville recovered. One play later, Blake Aragon scored on a 26-yard run to put Stephenville ahead, 22-0.

Key players: Stephenville running back Reece Nowak sliced through Cleburne’s defense to the tune of 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 16 carries in three quarters. Nowak had 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns on his first four attempts, and he scored on runs of 15, 73, 32 and 54 yards.

Key stat: Cleburne fumbled six times in the first half and lost four of them, two of which were on kickoffs. Cleburne’s issues protecting the ball in the first half allowed Stephenville to get out to a three-possession lead.

Records: Stephenville, 1-0; Cleburne, 0-1

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Stephenville blitzes Cleburne with touchdowns on the way to victory."