Lions Rule the Jungle! Clip the wings of the Falcons 42-21!

Right from the start, our St. Mark's Lions looked strong. The Lions defense stopped the Falcons on a three and out. Bishop Dunne set up to punt, the snap went high, and St. Mark's took over possession.  Almost immediately, Lions quarterback, Joe Bush, threw a nice timing screen, and with excellent blocking at the line as well as down field, Malcolm Bowman rambled into the end zone.  With the Falcons in control of the ball, St, Mark's defensive end Dillard Pinkston sacked the quarterback, and the Lions took over again after a nice punt return down the left sideline by Cameron Kline. Bush threw another beauty and was rewarded with an awesome circus catch by Kendrick Spraglin.  After a St. Mark's fumble, Pinkston made a highlight film interception for a pick six touchdown.   Bishop Dunne's Cook had a long catch, but the defensive front seven kept up constant pressure with their blitzing and stunting. The first quarter of the 2011 season ended with St. Mark's leading 14-0. The Falcons punted again and exchange issues led to a safety against the Lions, which gave the ball back to Bishop Dunne.  There was a face mask penalty called against St. Mark's, a long pass missed by the BD receiver on the right goal line, and St. Mark's took over again.  A short quick strike by Bush over the middle was received by Kline who flew up the left sideline for 25 yards after the catch.  Two excellent passes from Bush to Luke Williams for first downs followed by another ball drilled by Bush to John Caldwell resulted in an additional touchdown for St. Mark's.  On their next possession, Bishop Dunne's Cook had a long run followed by a 20 yard touchdown catch, and brought the score to 21-8.  St. Mark's took possession, but Bishop Dunne intercepted the ball. BD's Roberts had a good first down catch followed by a reception by Cook and a stunning cut back run after the catch for another touchdown.   Bishop Dunne kicked the ball out of bounds. Amir Saboorian received the ball from Bush on a screen for a first down. St, Mark's followed with another first down with Bush throwing over the middle to Kline. Three's a charm, and  St. Mark's gained a third first down when Bush throws a flare pass to Malcolm Bowman. Williams demonstrated his sticky fingers and grabbed an excellent touchdown pass from Bush bringing the score to 28-15.   After a very nice shoestring tackle by Reid Thompson, Roberts had another long catch on the right side.  The early pressure from the St. Mark's defense returned with a brilliant sack by Will Perkins forcing an intentional grounding call. Ardis Graham tipped a BD pass, and Harrison Hewitt dove to complete the interception.  Halftime. BD kicked off to St. Mark's, and Kline ran back the kick off straight up the gut, across midfield.  St. Mark's changed to a two back set, and there were two running first downs- Kline and Bowman, Bowman and Kline.  After a nifty play action fake by Bush, he found Caldwell in the end zone again, and St. Mark's had a 20 point lead.  St. Mark's stopped BD again, and their punt traveled less than ten yards.  After a quick sweep to the left and a long run by Kline, the Falcons were flagged for a late hit.  St. Mark's barely missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.   BD's Cook had another first down catch over the middle, but the defensive secondary for St. Mark's toughened up and came through with several excellent plays.  After another BD punt that went less than ten yards, John Webb entered the game at quarterback and immediately threw a quick strike to Caldwell for a first down.  Then more runs by Bowman and Kline landed the Lions two yards from the end zone, and they switched ends to start the fourth quarter. Webb threw a nice pass, finding Caldwell, and produced Caldwell's third touchdown catch of the night.  Falcons' punt snap again cleared their punter's head, and St. Mark's barely missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.  St. Mark's defense remained steady, but Cook ran in for the final score of the game, with St. Mark's prevailing 42-21. Can't say enough about the teamwork.  Also the excellent pass protection and quick run blocking by the offensive line.  A welcome change to see the tenacity and attacking nature of the defense and the flying to the ball led by the linebackers was infectious.  Finally, the speed and quickness at the offensive skill positions remains impressive. We're back!  Keep it up!  FAST and PHYSICAL!!!  Recap by Greg Kline Errors, omissions, incorrect  information etc. are solely the responsibility of the editor, who shall remain anonymous to avoid embarrassment! Scenes from the first game begin with a video clip of the first play of the game. For more pictures click on the link to the Bishop Dunne game and check out more pictures by clicking on this link. Password is fastandphysical.