Tyler Lee Routs Corsicana, 42-15, to Begin the Season 2-0

TYLER -- So far, so good for the Kurt Traylor era at Tyler Lee.

The Red Raiders won for the second consecutive week under their new head coach, rolling to an impressive 42-15 victory over Corsicana on Saturday afternoon at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

“Our motto is ‘pound the stone,'" said Traylor, who was hired in June after serving as an assistant at Class 4A state power Gilmer for more than a decade.

"We’re just showing up every day and pounding on that stone. Don’t bring a little small hammer to work, get the 12-pound sledge and just pound it every day. That’s all I want. I don’t talk about wins, I don’t talk about losses. Don’t focus on the fruits, focus on the roots. Show up and work your tail off every day, and great things are going to happen.”

Red Raiders (2-0) senior quarterback Chance Amie, a University of Houston commit, directed an offense that piled up more than 400 yards of total offense.

He finished 17-of-28 passing for 279 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Amie also added 58 yards on nine rushing attempts.

“Chance has played a lot of ballgames, he really has," Traylor said. "And he’s learning our offense. He’s being patient, and he’s leading.”

The Lee defense forced three Corsicana (1-1) turnovers, sacked Tigers quarterback Blake Hoffman three times, and slowed down Corsicana's rushing attack in the second half.

Corsicana finished with 210 yards on the ground, but just 52 of that came after halftime.

“Our defensive line’s good," Traylor said. "They’re well-coached, they play hard, their effort’s unbelievable, and that was a good offensive line. The last two weeks they’ve played some great offensive linemen, and it’s going to be just like our district.”

Lee junior running back Ladarius Wickware rushed for a team-high 83 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He also added 41 yards receiving on a pair of catches.

Sophomore receiver Te'vion Massey enjoyed a breakout performance, finishing with four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.

“I work with my receivers every day on routes and scheme," Amie said. "I watch film and tell them how they’re going to play them, and tell them what technique they need to use to just be a weapon on the field. Big ups to my receivers, they got open pretty easy today.”

Hoffman sparked Corsicana's offense by rushing 16 times for 121 yards and a touchdown. He threw for 117 yards and a score, but was intercepted twice by Rhett Parker and Lanthony Simmons.

Lee got off to a quick start. Following a 35-yard kickoff return by Kameron Ross to begin the game, the Red Raiders got on the board with Amie's 10-yard scoring toss to Massey not even two minutes into the first.

On Corsicana's second possession, Parker intercepted Hoffman and returned the pick 29 yards to the Tigers' 28. A 23-yard completion from Amie to Massey set up Wickware's 5-yard touchdown run. Simmons ran in the two-point conversion to give Lee a 15-0 lead with 6:16 to play in the first quarter.

“That was our game plan, to come out and hit them in the mouth first before they hit us," Amie said.

Corsicana scored two plays later on Hoffman's 26-yard touchdown run, which immediately followed a 43-yard burst by Tigers starting running back Derrion Nathan. Hoffman converted the two-point conversion to cut Corsicana's deficit to 15-8.

Lee's first drive of the second quarter resulted in points. Marquis Gray's diving 30-yard catch inside the 5-yard line set up Wickware's 3-yard scoring run, which upped the Red Raiders' lead to 22-8.

“He probably has the best ball skills on the team, second to me, probably," Amie said of Gray with a wry smile. "But yeah he’s definitely a ball player.”

The Red Raiders didn't score again until their opening possession of the third quarter. Amie's 2-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Miller, and Simmons' ensuing two-point conversion gave Lee a 30-8 lead.

Corsicana immediately responded, driving 71 yards in eight plays, and scoring on Hoffman's 38-yard pass to running back Z'antyler Foster-Hooks, which trimmed Lee's lead to 30-15 with 2:04 showing on the third-quarter clock.

Jordan Printers ran for a touchdown, and Amie connected with Zaylon Walker on a 27-yard scoring strike as Lee outscored Corsicana, 12-0, in the fourth.

“I just wanted to show up and have our kids give good effort, and I wanted to execute," Traylor said. "We looked good, and I talk about mental errors all the time, I don’t want any mental errors. I want kids knowing what they’re doing, and having fun.”

Lee returns to action Friday night at Nacogdoches (0-2), while Corsicana travels to Lancaster.

“We’re going to focus on us, just keep on getting better because we’re fixing to hit a tough little district here. It’s murderer’s row," Traylor said. "And yeah we’ll focus on Nacogdoches and game plan it, but I want to get better, and I saw us taking a step today to get better.”

Tyler Lee 42, Corsicana 15

At CHRISTUS TMF Rose Stadium, Tyler

Corsicana            8      0      7      0    --    15
Lee                    15      7      8    12    --    42

First Quarter
LEE--Te'vion Massey 10 pass from Chance Amie (Leonel Coreas kick), 10:04.
LEE--Ladarius Wickware 5 run (Lanthony Simmons run), 6:16.
COR--Blake Hoffman 26 run (Hoffman run), 5:34.
Second Quarter
LEE--Wickware 3 run (Coreas kick), 10:40.
Third Quarter
LEE--Malcolm Miller 2 pass from Amie (Simmons run), 5:41.
COR--Z'antyler Foster-Hooks 38 pass from Hoffman (Victor Cavillo kick), 2:04.
Fourth Quarter
LEE--Jordan Printers 4 run (run failed), 9:32.
LEE--Zaylon Walker 27 pass from Amie (run failed), 3:53.

                                      COR                   LEE
First Downs                        16                      19
Total Yards                        327                    441
Rushes-Yards              37-210               41-162
Passing Yards                   117                    279
Comp.-Att.-Int.           11-26-2             17-28-2
Punts-Avg.                   5-29.0                2-42.0
Fumbles-Lost                     2-1                    3-1
Penalties-Yards                 5-50                 5-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Corsicana, Blake Hoffman 16-121, Derrion Nathan 8-73, Z'antyler Foster-Hooks 13-16. Lee, Ladarius Wickware 19-83, Chance Amie 9-58, Kameron Ross 1-16, Lanthony Simmons 4-12, Jordan Printers 3-7, Malik Hall 5-6, Harrison Branham 1-(-2), Roland Poster 1-(-2).
PASSING--Corsicana, Hoffman 11-26-2--117. Lee, Amie 17-28-2--279.
RECEIVING--Corsicana, Drew Denbow 4-32, Jervontae Anderson 3-16, Ike Hargrave 2-17, Foster-Hooks 1-38, Colton Kuykendall 1-13. Lee, Te'vion Massey 4-103, Marquis Gray 4-54, Zaylon Walker 3-61, Wickware 2-41, Branham 2-10, Ross 1-8, Miller 1-2.