Class 3A semifinals: Blanchard's defense dominates Jones

In their nickel defenses, the Lions moved Braden Stringer from the secondary to linebacker and Zach Hill from linebacker to defensive end.

“Those guys are athletic guys that can run,” Craig said. “Stringer is hard to block inside and Zach is hard to block off the edge.

“We were able to defeat some one-on-one blocks with some athletic guys, and our secondary did a tremendous job of locking them down.”

Jones coach Dave Martin said it was not Blanchard's defensive schemes, but its defensive personnel that doomed the Longhorns

“We've seen everything but the kitchen sink this year,” Martin said. “When you throw the ball around like what we do, you are going to see all the innovations.

“They just do a great job up front. It's Johnnys and Joes. It's not so much X's and O's. We've see a ton of blitz packages. They've just got some really good kids.”