Crisp, cool and calm describes the Lopez Lobos on Saturday afternoon at Lopez High School.

The Lobos racked up the points, beating the Highland Christian Knights 38-24.

“We played iron man football,” Coach Larry Berg said. “We have 10 players suited up on the entire squad, and eight guys go out there and keep it up for three hours, defense and offense.”

Lopez did keep it up, led by Colton Jardine. This is Jardine’s second year quarterbacking for the Lobos, and he was impressive in his athleticism.

“His passing was a little off, but he made up for it in all kinds of different ways,” Berg said.

Jardine was only six for 15 in the air, but he managed to carry the ball eight times, racking up 45 yards on the ground and garnering two touchdowns and on defense, he snapped up two fumble recoveries and caught three interceptions.

In the first quarter the Knights scored early, capitalizing on a strong march down the field that ended in a touchdown and a two point conversion but the Lobos were quick to answer. The Lobos took the kickoff and ran with it, and in three plays Tucker Hoffman and Tommy Kramer ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown but the Lobos didn’t make the two point conversion. The Lobos scored again in the first quarter but the second quarter was a point standstill for both teams as each defense took turns getting hammered.

At the beginning of the third quarter Jardine came out throwing and lobbed one down the field to Kramer who took it into the end zone on a 51 yard run for another touchdown. The Lobos were leading 26-16 at the end of the third quarter, but Highland Christian answered with a touchdown of their own. The Knights’ offensive drive notched up some impressive numbers as well.

But the Lobos made their share of mistakes, costing them time and momentum.