AVA — In just two quarters, Ava’s Brett Lambert had compiled a game’s worth of stats.
Lambert rushed for 183 yards and scored five touchdowns in the first half to lead the Bears’ 45-0 drubbing Friday night of Houston.
It was an impressive performance for Lambert, who had scoring rushes of 46, 6, 1, 40 and 6 yards. But Tigers coach David Williams believes his team contributed to Lambert’s big night.
“It’s plain and simple — we’ve got to get tougher,” Williams said. “That’s all there is to it. You can’t be good in this game if you aren’t a lot tougher than what we are.”
A three-week gauntlet of Salem, Mountain Grove and Ava proved to be a difficult one for Houston (0-4, 0-4 SCA). The Tigers managed just one fourth-quarter touchdown in those three games and did not force a single punt.
Williams believes the key in turning things around begins with being more physical on both sides of the ball.
“The biggest thing is we’ve got to get tougher. That’s what I see,” Williams said. “In my opinion, we can’t do much more as far as improving until we get tougher. That’s just where we’re at.”
The Bears (3-1, 2-1 SCA) gained 395 of their 400 total yards on the ground. The lone pass was a fourth-quarter touchdown from Dexter Fish to Jesse Johnson.
Five players gained 34 or more yards for Ava. Lambert didn’t play in the second half.
Houston managed just five first downs and 72 yards of offense.
“The last three games it seems like we’ve gone backwards a little bit each game. I’m kind of at a loss to know why,” Williams said. “I don’t know if it’s because we don’t think we can beat those teams or what it is.”
Sophomore Drake Bell took over running back duties from Jacob Case, who left the team earlier in the week. Bell gained 36 yards on 14 carries in his first varsity action at running back.
Quarterback Kyle Jones was 1-of-10 passing for 12 yards and an interception.
“Our passing game was atrocious,” Williams said. “Bad passes and dropped balls. That’s not going to cut it.”
Lambert found the end zone early and often. After Houston went three-and-out on its first possession, Lambert took an inside handoff and darted 46 yards for a touchdown on the Bears’ first play.
Following a Jones interception, Lambert capped a six-play, 32-yard drive with a 6-yard score.
The Bears ran the ball on 11 of their 12 plays — quarterback Garrett Baird’s pass attempt fell incomplete — on a 71-yard drive that ended with Lambert’s 1-yard score that made it 19-0.
Lambert’s 40-yard score midway through the second quarter gave the Bears a 26-point advantage. His fifth touchdown — a 6-yard run with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the half –put Ava ahead 32-0.
The most difficult portion of the Tigers’ schedule may be over, but they certainly are nowhere near where Williams said he hoped to be at this point in the season.
“I’m not happy with where we’re at,” he said. “We’ve got to worry about ourselves first. We’ve got things we’ve got to get corrected.”
