The Ozona Lion JH football team combined to make up one team on Thursday to compete against the Brackettville Tigers. The Lions started the game on offense, but their first drive was cut short after a fumbled pitch was picked up by the Tigers defense and returned 85 yards for a touchdown. The Lions were down for the first time since their first game following the turnover. On the following drive, the offense was once again plagued by self-inflicted mistakes after a holding call brought back a big first down. The drive stalled and the Lions defense was forced to step up, and they did! Andres, Christian, JP, Jacoby and the rest of the Lion defense stopped the Tiger offense on 4 consecutive plays, which gave the Lions the ball back. On the following series, the Lion offense finally got going as Christian Villarreal turned the corner and scored his first of 3 touchdowns on the night. The following series, the defense made another stop. This allowed Villarreal to run behind the Offensive Line anchored by DJ Esparza, Jacoby Ramos, Matthew Ybarra Colt Scorggins and Rowdy O’Bryant. The defense continued to stay strong in their effort limiting Brackett to only 1 first down in the half. In the 2nd half, the defense continued their relentless ways, dominating the Tiger offense on the opening series of the first half. The 7th grade offense started the 2nd half and were too plagued by the turnover bug as a Tiger defender stripped the ball and returned it for a Tiger touchdown, tying the game at 14. This was the final turnover of the night for the Lions, as the offense was sparked by a 70 yard Villarreal TD on the first play of the next series. Like sharks in water, the defense went into full attack mode and stuffed the Tigers on the next series. The Lion offense took the field again and was able to score after Trey Preddy connected with Andres for a 40 yard TD, putting the Lions ahead 28-14. The Tiger offense couldn’t get going and were forced to turn the ball over on downs during their next offensive series. Rielee Barrera capped off the next Lion possession with a 35 yard TD run, putting the Lions up 34-14. This would be the final offensive TD for the Lions as the final score came out to 34-22 in favor of the Lions. Next week, the 8th grade will travel to Mason and the 7th grade will be in Harper.