Steele vs. Austin Lake Travis football game suspended due to inclement weather

Friday night’s highly anticipated out-of-district contest between Steele and Austin Lake Travis at Lehnhoff Stadium was canceled in the third quarter due to weather. The two teams were tied at 28-28 with 04:42 remaining in the third quarter when the game entered a lightning delay.

The lightning delay began around 9 p.m. and the game was officially called around 40 minutes later due to the inclement weather. UIL guidelines say that activities must be suspended when lightning is detected within a 10-mile radius of the event venue. Activities may not resume until lightning is no longer within the 10-mile radius and 30 minutes have passed since the last lightning strike.

The 28-28 score will likely be counted as a tie toward Steele and Lake Travis’ records, but it will not have playoff implications since it is from an out-of-district contest. Per UIL rules, any out-of-district varsity football games that have gone past halftime are considered to be official contests.

“If both teams have made a good faith effort to complete the game and have not been able to finish the game or mutually agree to end the game at the point of suspension, the game shall be declared final with the score at the time of suspension,” the UIL website reads.

While suspended games could be restarted at a later time, the UIL does not allow games to be played past Saturday. Lake Travis is also roughly 70 miles away from San Antonio. Steele head coach David Saenz estimated that the game could have resumed around 11 p.m., around two hours after the contest was paused.

“It’s a late night, too, for them [Lake Travis] to have to travel home for a non-district game,” Saenz said.

Lake Travis jumped to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter before Steele senior running back Marshall Kenner found the end zone on a 71-yard rushing touchdown with 4:40 to play in the first quarter.

The Knights found a rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 21 points in the second quarter to take a 28-21 lead on the Cavaliers at halftime. Kenner found the end zone again, this time on a 2-yard rush.

“We knew coming into this year he was going to be one of the main, featured backs for us and he did a great job tonight of being the spark that we needed to get back into the game,” Steele head coach David Saenz said.

Steele’s Marshall Kenner (23) runs the ball for a 71-yard touchdown during the first quarter against the Lake Travis Cavaliers at Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News)

The Steele defense fed off the momentum on the ensuing Lake Travis drive when sophomore defensive back Jordan Jackson picked off Lake Travis quarterback Jason Carter in the end zone on 2nd-and-goal from Steele’s 5-yard line.

“I’m just proud of the way they fought back in the first half,” Saenz said. “It looked like it was going to be a back and forth game there in the second half.”

Steele senior quarterback DJ Green tossed a 56-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Jamin Harvell with 6:11 left in the second quarter to give the Knights’ their first lead of the night.

Carter threw a 43-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver and defensive back Luca Antoun to tie the game again at 21-21 with 3:08 to play until halftime.

Steele quickly got back out in front when junior running back Liam Jones rushed for a 21-yard touchdown with a two-play scoring drive for the Knights. The Steele defense stood their ground before the break as the final Lake Travis drive in the first half ended with a turnover on downs.

Lake Travis senior running back Teddy Lofgren scored on a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 10:22 left in the third quarter to tie the game before it was called.

Steele returns to action next Friday at Lehnhoff Stadium, where it will host Wagner. Lake Travis is set to host Cornerstone next Thursday.