The Lions’ varsity football team lost a tight game to the John Cooper Dragons by a final score of 23-13. The Lions entered the game off a road lose to the Kinkaid School in Houston to start SPC play, and the Dragons came in undefeated on the year with a record of 6-0.

The Lions found their stride early when running back David Dickson caught a swing pass and made several Dragon defenders miss for a 16-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game. The Dragons moved the ball early, but junior defensive end Reid Smith stopped the Dragons’ offense with a huge sack on fourth down. The teams offenses both moved the ball into the opposing territory, but neither scored as the first quarter ended. Finally, the Dragons got into the red zone, but the Lions’ defense held them to a field goal, making the score 7-3 Lions. After a 75-yard kick return by Dickson, the Lions failed to capitalize on the short field when the Dragons blocked a field goal attempt. The Dragons carried the momentum down the field to take the lead on an short touchdown run. The Lions ran the two minute offense well, but missed a long field goal which kept the score at 10-7 Dragons going into the half.

After exchanging punts to start the first half, the Dragons found the endzone again to extend their lead to ten. After the Lions punted again, the defense forced a three-and-out. A short punt gave the Lions’ offense the ball at midfield, and the offense were able to capitalize with a touchdown to cut the deficit to four. The Dragons responded with a long touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter, extending their led back up to ten. The Lions desperately tried to mount a late comeback, but the Dragons were able to seal the game with an interception as the Lions fell 23-13. The Lions will look to get back on track after two loses with a road trip to Houston to take on the St. John’s Mavericks