Zach Hall’s Monstrous Offensive Performance Sends Tyler Lee To 62-49 Win Over Sachse

TYLER -- Tyler Lee junior quarterback Zach Hall followed up last week's strong performance in the Red Raiders' upset of top-ranked John Tyler with a historic effort Friday night.

Hall put up 505 yards of total offense and accounted for seven touchdowns in Lee's 62-49 win over Garland Sachse in the District 11-6A opener for both teams at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

The elusive playmaker ran for 254 yards and a school-record six touchdowns, while passing for 251 yards and another score as Lee (2-2, 1-0) rolled up 670 yards of total offense.

"My line was opening up holes for me, and all I had to do was run straight and use my athletic abilities, just make defenders miss -- doing what I do best," Hall said. "Our defense kept getting turnovers and giving us the ball, and our line was just making huge creases. I saw it, and just shot through."

Hall's performance came on the heels of his 349-yard, five-touchdown night in the Red Raiders' 37-31 win over crosstown rival John Tyler.

"These last two games we started off slow in the first half, but our (coaching staff) made great adjustments in the second half, and we followed what he said and got it done," Hall said.

Hall's 254 rushing yards came on 27 carries, and his touchdown runs covered 1, 40, 6, 10, 1 and 57 yards. He was 21 of 29 passing -- his final attempt good for an 18-yard touchdown to junior running back Devonte Craver.

"Well, he's pretty good," Lee coach Darrell Piske said of Hall. "He's got to depend on his brothers to block for him, and that's where those big plays come from when he gets into the open field. That's receivers blocking for him downfield."

Craver finished with eight carries for 49 yards to go with the fourth-quarter scoring reception. Receiver Mason Parker ran five times for 59 yards and a touchdown, receiver Tyrec Grayson had 36 yards and a touchdown on four carries and running back Tavon Wesley had 31 yards on six attempts as the Red Raiders rolled up 419 yards on the ground.

"That puts you in a bind when you've got guys all over the field," Piske said. "We can throw it, we can run it, those little guys in motion are good runners and they're fast. Then you've the zone up the middle; you've got Zach pulling it. (Offensive coordinator) Dan Roberson and those guys do a great job at halftime adjusting to what we've got and seeing what we've got."

Lee turned a 28-21 halftime deficit into a 48-35 lead entering the fourth by outscoring Sachse, 27-7, in the third quarter.

Following a Sachse (2-2, 0-1) three-and-out to begin the half, Lee marched 82 yards in seven plays, tying the game at 28-28 on Parker's 24-yard run on the jet sweep. Lee's defense forced a second consecutive three-and-out, and took a 34-28 lead on a Hall 6-yard touchdown run.

Sachse got a 54-yard return from Donovan Duvernay on the ensuing kickoff, and on the first play of the series, Mustangs quarterback Brett Cox connected with Devin Duvernay on a 17-yard touchdown. Geoffrey Pace's PAT gave Sachse a 35-34 lead with 2:56 remaining in the third.

Lee took advantage of excellent field position on the ensuing series, regaining the lead on Hall's 10-yard touchdown run, which put the Red Raiders on top 40-35 with 1:56 showing on the third-quarter clock.

The Red Raiders then recovered an onside kick, and scored five plays later on a Hall 1-yard run. Craver's two-point conversion increased the Red Raiders' lead to 48-35 with 16 seconds to play in the period.

Sachse running Devine Ozigbo's 14-yard touchdown cut the deficit to 48-42 early in the fourth, but Lee put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns -- a Hall 57-yard run and the 18-yard pass from Hall to Craver.

The Mustangs were led on offense by Cox, who was 13 of 26 passing for 295 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Devin Duvernay, one of the state's top recruits in the 2016 class, caught seven passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns and ran three times for 36 yards and another score.

"We don't really have anyone to emulate (Devin Duvernay's) speed," Piske said. "So our defensive backs weren't getting out of their back-pedal quick enough in the first half, just letting him run by them. I don't know how you work on that, except in football games, because we don't have anybody that fast."

Devin Duvernay lined up at quarterback and kept a zone-read play, speeding 39 yards by the Lee defense for 6-0 Sachse lead midway through the opening quarter.

Lee responded by scoring touchdowns on its next two possessions. Hall's 1-yard run, and Grayson's 25-yard burst gave the Red Raiders a 14-6 lead after one quarter.

Cox connected with Devin Duvernay for a 64-yard touchdown on the second play of the second quarter. The duo hooked up again on the two-point conversion, which tied the game at 14-14.

Hall's 40-yard touchdown run with 4:14 remaining until halftime gave Lee a 21-14 lead, but Donovan Duvernay promptly re-tied the game with a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Sachse took a 28-21 lead into halftime when Cox hit Kameron Steen in-stride for a 70-yard touchdown with 1:03 to play until intermission.

Lee returns to action next Friday night at Rowlett, while Sachse hosts Garland the same night.

"Playing those good teams early helped us because the kids have enough faith in us and we have faith in them not to give up on each other, and just keep battling," Piske said. "They're smart enough to see the senior leadership's been good and the camaraderie's good, and they're smart enough to see that we can still get better. We just need to fix the little things."

Tyler Lee 62, Sachse 49

At TMF Rose Stadium, Tyler

Sachse                 6    22     7    14    --    49
Tyler Lee             14      7   27    14    --    62

First Quarter
SAC--Devin Duvernay 39 run (kick failed), 6:09.
LEE--Zach Hall 1 run (Matthew Hawk kick), 1:48.
LEE--Tyrec Grayson 25 run (Hawk kick), :04.
Second Quarter
SAC--Duvernay 64 pass from Brett Cox (Duvernay pass from Cox), 11:23.
LEE--Hall 40 run (Hawk kick), 4:14.
SAC--Donovan Duvernay 79 kickoff return (Geoffrey Pace kick), 3:58.
SAC--Kameron Steen 70 pass fro Cox (Pace kick), 1:03.
Third Quarter
LEE--Mason Parker 24 run (Hawk kick), 7:31.
LEE--Hall 6 run (kick failed), 3:16.
SAC--Devin Duvernay 17 pass from Cox (Pace kick), 2:56.
LEE--Hall 10 run (pass failed), 1:56.
LEE--Hall 1 run (Devonte Craver run), :16.
Fourth Quarter
SAC--Devine Ozigbo 14 run (Pace kick), 10:29.
LEE--Hall 57 run (Hawk kick), 8:38.
LEE--Craver 20 pass from Hall (Hawk kick), 2:11.
SAC--Nate Shelton 6 pass from Cox (Pace kick), 1:15.

                                             SAC                     LEE
First Downs                               13                       28
Total Yards                              419                     670
Rushes-Yards                     23-124               54-419
Passing Yards                          295                    251
Comp.-Att.-Int.                  13-26-3              21-29-0
Punts-Avg.                           3-37.0                3-35.3
Fumbles-Lost                            1-0                     2-2
Penalties-Yards                       2-10                   6-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Sachse, Devine Ozigbo 12-47, Brett Cox 8-41, Devin Duvernay 3-36. Tyler Lee, Zach Hall 27-254, Mason Parker 5-59, Devonte Craver 8-49, Tyrec Grayson 4-36, Tavon Wesley 6-31, Mark Russell 1-3, Trevor Carr 1-0, Team 2-(-13).
PASSING--Sachse, Cox 13-26-3--295. Tyler Lee, Hall 21-29-0--251.
RECEIVING--Sachse, Devin Duvernay 7-172, Kameron Steen 2-72, Donovan Duvernay 2-36, Austin Dean 1-9, Nate Shelton 1-6. Tyler Lee, Jordan Devers 5-38, Isjuwan Barker 4-65, Carr 3-31, Parker 3-30, Wesley 2-41, Grayson 2-6, Juwan Banks 1-22, Craver 1-18.