Steele dominates Clemens to cap unblemished District 27-6A championship

Led by its stingy defense, Steele wrapped up a dominant run through District 27-6A with a 42-14 victory over Clemens on Thursday at Lehnhoff Stadium.

Steele (8-1-1, 7-0) racked up 508 yards of total offense, while holding Clemens (7-3, 4-3) to 184 total yards, as the Knights defeated their rivals for the seventh straight time.

The Knights came into the game having already clinched their seventh straight district title, but Steele didn’t rest on its laurels as it outscored Clemens 35-14 after the game was tied 7-7 early in the second quarter.

Steele coach David Saenz said winning the district title for the seventh year in a row was a big accomplishment for the senior class, a group which hasn’t lost a district game in four years.

“We always talk about protecting the tradition,” Saenz said. “It feels good and extremely proud, especially for our seniors to go the four years that they were here without losing a district game and then continuing that tradition of winning a district championship.”

With the win, Steele leads the all-time series against Clemens 16-2, with the Buffaloes last win against the Knights in 2019.

Next up, Steele hosts Reagan (6-3, 6-1) in the bi-district round of the Class 6A Division I playoffs next Thursday at Lehnhoff Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Clemens needed a win to clinch a playoff berth. Now the Buffaloes’ playoff hopes hinge on the longshot chance that winless San Marcos (0-9, 0-6) can beat East Central (5-4, 3-3) Friday in the regular season finale at 7:30 p.m. at Hornet Stadium. An East Central loss would secure Clemens’ first playoff berth in seven years.

A Hornets win would result in a tiebreaker, but with Pieper and Judson now both a half-game up on Clemens going into Friday, it could be up to a four-team tie for the final three spots, depending on how Pieper and Judson fare in their matchups against Wagner and New Braunfels Canyon, respectively.

The Hornets hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buffaloes if it comes down to a two-way tie.

Clemens coach Alan Hill said his team accomplished a lot in his third season as the Buffaloes’ coach, as Clemens produced its first winning season in seven years.

“It was really good,” Hill said. “Obviously refreshing around here for the kids to have a winning mindset and a winning mentality. I wish we would have put forth a little bit better showing tonight, but tough way to end the season against a really good opponent. Obviously can’t take away from what the kids have done up to this point. Really proud of them.”

Saenz said the Steele defense was able to dominate Clemens because of their physicality.

“They played physical, they were playing fast,” Saenz said. “We knew they were going to come out, they had to win to get into the playoffs. Our guys, we’re just proud of the way they adjusted to the different schemes they (Clemens) were trying to hit us on early and our defensive staff did a great job of recognizing them and putting our kids in good situations. The kids went out and they performed well.”

Marshall Kenner, who rushed for 178 yards on 17 carries, put Steele up 7-0 when he scored on an 11-yard run at the 5:35 mark of the first quarter, capping off a nine-play, 78-yard drive.

Clemens came back on the ensuing possession, starting off with Zarion Jordan’s 35-yard kickoff return. The Buffaloes went 60 yards in 10 plays, ending with Daniel Gray’s 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

After Gray’s scoring run, Steele put the clamps on Clemens, as the Knights held the Buffaloes to 80 yards and only four first downs in the first half. Steele then ramped up its offense, as Kenner dashed for 63 yards on the next possession to the Clemens 5, setting up his own 5-yard touchdown run which put Knights up for good at 14-7.

Steele scored two more times in the second quarter on its way to a 28-7 halftime lead, with DJ Green throwing touchdown passes of 34 yards to Jamin Harvell and 76 yards to Jayden Casiano.

The Knights scored twice in the third quarter, on a 20-yard interception return by Teylen White and a 71-yard touchdown run by Quinton Humphrey-Davis to extend their lead to 42-7.

Late in the third quarter, Clemens put together a big play when backup quarterback Chase Stevens connected with Luis Santiago on a 42-yard pass to the Steele 21. The big play led to a 5-yard scoring run from Devin Morgan on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Green finished 8-of-11 passing for 185 yards and two scores with one interception for Steele.

The Knights’ playoff opener will be a rematch from earlier this season as they thumped the Rattlers 52-21 in the season opener.

Saenz said Reagan is a much better team than the one his squad played to open the season.

“They’ve improved tremendously,” Saenz said. “They’ve been playing extremely good football these last couple of weeks. So, we’re going to have to make sure we prepare and continue to get better at all three phases at our end too.”

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This article originally published at Steele dominates Clemens to cap unblemished District 27-6A championship.