Lamb’s 5 TD catches enable Falcons to roll to Region IV crown
SAN ANTONIO — Foster coach Shaun McDowell believes senior wide receiver Cedarian Lamb is only getting started.
In a 51-28 win over Dripping Springs in the Class 5A Division I Region IV final at the Alamo dome on Saturday, getting started translated to nine catches for 225 yards and five touchdowns.
“Oh yeah,” McDowell said. “I still think his best football is in front of him, and that’s scary. If he’s not the best football player in the state, I don’t know who we’re looking at.
“And I tell you what. After all that, he’s a better young man, too.”
If Lamb has a better game stashed in his back pocket, he might want to use it with a trip to the state title game on the line next week. For now, he can marvel at a standout performance that propelled Foster to its first regional championship. It’s never that easy
The Falcons (14-0) rolled through Dripping Springs (12-2) much like they have the 2016 season. Foster’s average margin of victory this year is 33 points. More often than not, they win with ease.
And it was easy at first — a 340-run kind of easy.
That’s where Lamb grabbed four of his five touchdown catches from senior quarterback Alex Ramart. His first one set the tone. It came on a third-and-6 on the game’s opening drive. Ramart found Lamb and let him do the rest by outrunning Dripping Springs defenders for a 58-yard touchdown.
“It’s just the ability to get open and the play-calling of my coaches,” Lamb said. “It’s just all great. They put me in a position to do what I have to do to help the team win.”
The Tigers gave the Falcons a push that they hadn’t received often this year, however.
After the 34-0 run, Dripping Springs outscored Foster 28-3 to make it a 37-28 deficit with 3:48 left in the third quarter.
The comeback was by way of three Reese Johnson touchdown passes, accompanied by his lone rushing score.
Meanwhile, to that point, Lamb had just one catch since his fourth touchdown catch early in the second quarter.
Dripping Springs coach Galen Zimmerman said Lamb’s play forced the defense to change coverages to corral him. It didn’t shock McDowell. “It’s a great thing,” McDowell said. “Dripping Springs, they coach too. They do a great job. They’re a high-powered offense. Defensively, we knew we had to dig our heels in and get after it.
“We’ll take that test. We’ve been passing it. We’re 14-0.” Putting it to bed
The Falcons went to another option to quell the Tigers’ momentum. Junior running back Quinton Oliver had 27 carries for 196 yards and two touchdowns. He gained a chunk of that on Foster’s ensuing drive after Dripping Springs cut the lead to 37-28.
The 5-7, 210-pounder bowled his way through each run, as he often does. He added an 11-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left in the third quarter. The Falcons only threw the ball twice during that drive.
Turnovers stunted Dripping Springs from mustering up enough to come back again.
Foster senior linebacker Malik McLemore recovered a fumble that led to Lamb’s fifth touchdown catch — a 9-yarder where he kept his toes just in near the back of the end zone early in the fourth.