Buda — Lehman improved a lot since it last played Hays.

The Lobos had two more wins to their credit and a legitimate shot to beat the Rebels for the first time. At least that’s what Lehman thought until it stepped on the field at Shelton Stadium.

Hays showed the Lobos just how far away they are from competing with their sister school on the gridiron. The Rebels dominated on both sides of the ball and walked away with a 27-7 win Friday night.

“Any time you beat your rival, it’s a big win,” Hays head coach Bob Shelton said. “I was extremely happy with the way the team played today, especially the defense.”

The Rebels’ defense was the star of the game Friday night.

Hays knocked around Lehman’s quarterbacks (Matthew Anguiano and Harvest Trammell) and filled all the gaps when the Lobos tried to run. The Rebels limited Lehman to 26 total yards of offense in the first half and one yard per carry in the game.

“They just dominated us in the trenches,” Lobo head coach Steve Davis said. “Their defensive line overpowered our guys and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

While Hays stopped Lehman’s offense, the Rebels pushed the Lobos’ defense around just as easily.

The Rebels’ offensive line cleared the way for Anthony Garza and Trace Gandy to rack up big gains. Garza and Gandy combined to rush for 231 yards on 32 carries to lead Hays.

Torrance Smith, the Rebels’ third running back, didn’t get as many touches (eight carries and two pass receptions) but did his usual damage. Smith returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and rumbled in from two yards out for another.

“I had two lanes to pick from (on the kickoff return),” Smith said. “I just picked the one with the most blockers and went that way. I knew I’d score.”

Smith’s kickoff return opened the second half and effectively broke Lehman’s spirits. And what Smith’s return didn’t shatter, Hays’ defense did.

The Rebels held the Lobos scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. Lehman’s only touchdown (a 2-yard run by Jacob Torres) was set up by a fumble which was returned deep into Hays territory.

Hays sacked Anguiano and Trammell a total of six times and intercepted two of their passes. The Lobos had 12 plays go for negative yards thanks to the Rebels.

“We have a long way to go if we want to beat Hays,” Davis said. “Our kids need to get into the weight room during the offseason and not get derailed by any outside influences and get stronger and faster. Hopefully they learned from tonight.”

The Rebels improved to 4-6 with the win and open the Region III, Class 4A playoffs next Saturday against Huntsville in Georgetown. Lehman fell to 5-5 and will miss the playoffs by virtue of Lockhart’s 42-14 win at Manor.