Lone Tree football headlines the KCII Area Game of the Week for the second time this season, as the Lions are on the road to take on a lesser-known opponent in the Springville Orioles. 

With no game scheduled for Week 2, Lone Tree had two weeks to prepare for the Midland Eagles, who they handled 49-30. Senior Ethan Bockelman threw for a season-high 103 yards and three touchdowns, adding another score with his legs. The passing game meshed perfectly with a career night from junior Maddox Jondle, who ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns on 23 attempts. Jondle also caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and led the Lion’s defensively with 10 tackles. Lone Tree out-gained Midland 440-254, while their defense allowed just 14 passing yards on 18 attempts. 

Bockelman is 10-25 on the season for 189 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He and Jondle have combined for 783 of the teams 856 rushing yards, finding the endzone 12 times between the two. Sophomore Emmet Burke has a team-high 5 receptions for 102 yards. Junior Brody Magruder leads the charge on defense with 19 tackles on the year, followed by Jondle with 18 and Burke with 15.5. The Lion defense has recorded three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. All five takeaways came in the season opener. 

The 2-1 Lions battle with the Springville Orioles, who carry a 2-2 record into tonight’s contest. The young team is led by sophomore Mason Hoy, who tops the Orioles in passing yards, carries, rushing yards, and 12 total touchdowns. His favorite target is fellow sophomore Conlin Rouse who has caught eight passes for 152 yards and three scores. Rouse also has a team-high 21 tackles for a defense with 8 takeaways.  

Lone Tree head coach Joe Donovan spoke with KCII about his team’s plan heading into the Week 4 matchup. “They’ve got some good players. They’re gonna play with confidence, and they run several different formations so we have to be mentally aware of what’s going to happen every snap. We need to make sure we’re aligned correctly, and that we have our calls made correctly on defense. We just have to be sound and then when the ball is snapped just make the play.” 

The action can be heard on the KCII3 stream, available on KCIIradio.com by clicking “listen live”. Pregame coverage for the Area Game of the Week begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. with kickoff between the Lions and Orioles live at 7.