No. 16 Tolars rocks No. 12 Post with 48-0 blanking

Jackson LeCluyse tossed three touchdowns, and No. 16 Tolar erased anyone’s doubts about an overrated ranking with a 48-0 woodshed-style whipping of No. 12 Post in Jim Ned Friday night.

Tolar finished at 6-6 last year, while Post went all the way to the state title game and finished as the state title runner-up with a 15-1 mark. Now those marks are 1-0 for Tolar and 0-1 for Post.

This year, Tolar is laden with experienced varsity players, and it was a big turnaround from last year’s opener where Post battered the Rattlers 70-14. This time around, the Antelopes didn’t get a whiff of the end zone.

The Rattlers’ defense put the hurt on Post ball carriers as Garrison Nation, Peyton Brown and Bryce Brown all caused fumbles. Brock Owens and Drake Owens recovered two of them to set up touchdowns.

Tolar came up with 12 tackles for losses as Jasen Stephens had a magnificent night with 14 tackles to lead the Rattler defenders, Payton Raines notched eight stops, and B. Owens and Nations recorded a half dozen each.

LeCluyse was masterful as he completed 9-12 passing for 142 yards and three touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 146.9. The junior quarterback found Wyatt Jones twice for scores of 11 and 33 yards before connecting with Matt Moore on a 49-yard bomb.

Coach Jeremy Mullins went to his bench and sophomore southpaw Isaac Blessing responded by connecting with Jones, who snagged his third TD of the evening.

While it was a big night through the air, the Rattlers popped the ball into the end zone with freshman Peyton Brown getting the scoring started on a five-yard run. The touchdown was set up by freshman Drake Owens popping the ball loose and Bryce Brown’s recovery.

Blessing would add another rushing score for Tolar late in the contest.

With the defense grabbing turnovers and giving the offense a short field, the Rattlers still had great offensive numbers with 266 total yards on the night.

Senior running back Joseph Arce ran for 38 yards on 12 carries. Brown came away with a 5.4 yard per carrying average on five rushes and a score.

Jones’ three touchdowns led all scorers, and he caught seven balls for 94 yards. Moore grabbed two passes for 62 yards.

The Rattlers return for their first home game of the season as Tolar plays host to Early. The Longhorns also had a big night with a 48-12 win against Bangs. Rattler fans anxious to see their home team don’t want to miss this one; otherwise, it will be a month before Tolar returns home with three straight road games up next.

Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 Ext. 231