The Tivy rush defense had a rough September.

First there was San Antonio Madison and more than 200 yards from running back Aaron Green. Then there was Cibolo Steele and more than 350 yards from running back Malcolm Brown. Wrapping up that three-game stretch was Lake Travis, who used a running game to erase a 19-0 first quarter lead. All of them had successful fall days against the Antlers.

The Tivy defense wants District 28-4A to know that September is over.

The Antlers allowed no rushing yards in the first half against San Antonio McCollum at Memorial Stadium on Friday, forced three turnovers in the first half and led 49-7 at the half.

Tivy (5-1 overall, 2-0 in district) won 63-13.

"Very pleased overall with the whole team," Tivy coach Mark Smith said. "I think defensively, they need a challenge, they've been challenged themselves. We just got to quit giving up big plays. Tonight, we kind of did that. We played like we're capable of."

Tivy senior quarterback Johnny Manziel, who didn't see action in the second half and was watching the game on the sidelines midway through the second quarter, had his typical day. The Texas A&M recruit was 13-of-17 passing with 207 yards with three touchdowns. He also added 111 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

"(Sitting out) doesn't bother me too much," Manziel said. "It's pretty much up to (the coaches). They decide on what I do and it's up them. Some other players need to get in and it's good for the whole team."

The Antlers opened the game with a 57-yard touchdown from Manziel after the Tivy defense forced a three-and-out. The defense would make it a trend as the Cowboys struggled to move the ball on the Antlers.

After Manziel's long run, junior Braedon White scored a three-yard touchdown.

Junior Jayme Ozuna intercepted a pass on the next possession and Manziel found junior Kason Fornes for a 14-yard touchdown. Junior Nardo Almendariz also had a first half interception.

Fornes finished with four catches for 72 yards.

Up 21-0, the Antlers added another score after senior Marcus Villarreal caught three straight passes for 71 yards, including a 35-yard pass.

The Antlers finished the first quarter up 28-0. Manziel added another rushing touchdown in the second quarter and highlighted the first half with a goal-line hurdle for a touchdown.

"(The defender) went a little higher than I thought he was going to," Manziel joked. "I got kind of scared mid-air. That (score) felt good. It was the first time I think I've ever cleared (a hurdle for a touchdown)."

Senior receiver Deron Belford had a breakout game after recovering from a stress fracture that forced him to miss several weeks and limited him against Uvalde. Belford finished with four catches for 54 yards and one touchdown -- all in the first half.

"The biggest thing with Deron is he's been injured," Smith said. "He's got to regain his confidence and it looked liked he did that this week and tonight. We're glad to have him back."

Fornes also added another touchdown and Tivy led 49-0 when McCollum scored a 78-yard touchdown. Without the play, the Tivy defense would have allowed just 81 yards of offense in the first half.

Colton Tucker took over with more than seven minutes remaining in the second quarter and led the Antlers to a scoring drive in the third quarter. Tucker finished the first Tivy drive in the second half with a 29-yard touchdown run. Tucker had 70 yards rushing on nine carries and was 5-of-6 passing with 51 yards.

"It's fun and everything," Tucker said playing in the second half. "Go in there for (Manziel), learn everything from him and just try to do the best that I can. I know we're up by a lot, but it's still a whole lot of fun."

With the game in hand, 56-7, the Antlers emptied their bench and finished the third quarter up 63-7.

McCollum finished with four rushing yards on 28 carries.

The Antlers allowed a rushing touchdown at the end of the game.

The Antlers are still perfect in the new District 28-4A, which Manziel said is part of the team's goals.

"We're looking for the perfect record in the district, that 6-0 mark" he said. "We're not going to be satisfied unless we get that."

The Antlers host San Antonio Brennan, a new school, next week.

"We don't know a lot about them because it's there first year, but we just need to prepare every week and make sure we're getting better every week," Manziel said.

Tivy freshmen win big

The Tivy blue and gold teams each won against San Antonio McCollum at Antler Stadium. The Blue team shutout McCollum.

Calvin Johnson returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, while Blake Ray had a 15-yard touchdown run.

Jess Conner completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for the final score.

The Gold Team scored 53 points in a win against McCollum. Tyler Ahrens scored two touchdowns. while Billy Field scored twice, including a 70-yard touchdown run.

Christian Osorio had a fumble recovery on defense. with two offensive touchdowns already, Ahrens added an interception in the third quarter.

Tivy junior varsity wins

Sophomore Parks McNeil scored on a 33-yard quarterback keeper to put the Tivy junior varsity football team up 6-0 against San Antonio McCollum on Thursday and the team went on to win 55-0.

On the next possession, Jevon Gardner blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.

McNeil added a 75-yard rushing touchdown and the Antlers recovered another McCollum turnover to add another touchdown.

The Antlers led 27-0 after one quarter.

McNeil completed a 45-yard pass to Christian Chavez, and Jerry Daniels had a five-yard touchdown to make the score 34-0.

Daniels scored two more touchdowns and linebacker Brandon Bransford returned a fumble 30 yards for a

touchdown.

The Tivy junior varsity is 2-0 in District 28-4A and 4-2 overall. They play San Antonio Brennan on the road at

5 p.m. on Oct. 6.