Cibolo Steele running back senior Justin Stockton is considered to be one of the best players in the state, and on Sept. 20, he showed why, running for 283 yards and scoring four touchdowns as the Knights beat Westlake 21-49 on the water-logged artificial turf of Lehnhoff Stadium.

“He’s an explosive back,” offensive line coach Ted Willmann said, “You just can’t prepare for him.”

Westlake scored on the first drive against the eighth-ranked Knights to take a 7-0 lead after a 1-yard plunge by senior Alex Chavez, but Justin, a Texas Tech commit, led the Knights down the field before scoring on a 6-yard run to tie the game 7-7.

The Knights scored again and led 14-7 in the second quarter when Justin scored again on a 24-yard run to make the score 7-21. Westlake pulled back within 7 after quarterback senior Jordan Severt found junior Sean Rollings for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Following the kickoff, Justin struck again for his third touchdown of the game, setting the score at 14-28 heading into the half.

“He’s just so fast,” Willmann said, “probably the fastest [player] in the nation.”

After the break, not much changed, as Justin scored his fourth touchdown on a 67-yard scamper before being removed. He finished with 283 yards on only 17 carries.

Down 14-42, Alex found the end zone for the second time late in the third, but it was too little too late. Steele scored one last time before the game ended, clinching a 21-49 victory.

“We liked our chances offensively,” Willmann said. “We just missed some opportunities.”

Next week the Chaparrals open District play against Bowie at Burger Stadium. The players welcome the clean start.

“We need to put all of the games [we’ve already played] behind us,” center senior Bobby Dwyer said. “We’re starting fresh and now these games really count.”