Football Homecoming Win
The Lions football team matched up against the Lewis-Clark Valley Loggers on Saturday, September 21 for their homecoming game on their home field. Coming into the weekend, neither team had earned a win in the first few games of the season. With both teams listing about 27 players on their rosters, it was sure to be an exciting Saturday homecoming event!
The Loggers were the first to score with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter. Quarterback Leo Gomez threw to Ramal Maad for a touchdown, and CJ Fontana followed up with the extra point. Although the Lions had some great drives, they were unable to finish before the Loggers put another 7 points on the board. Ramal Maad received a 42 yard pass from Leo Gomez to score another touchdown with 3:26 left in the first half. CJ Fontana kicked the extra point once again, putting the Loggers up by 14 points. The Lions did not let up, however. With 1:16 left in the second quarter, MJ Ybarra threw a 32 yard pass to Cobie Mayes on the second play of the drive to score the Lions' first touchdown of the game. The extra point kick was no good, putting the Lions down 6-14 going into the second half.
Coach Twigg must have had an inspirational half-time with his team, because it was the Lions who came out to dominate the second half of the game. Only a few minutes into the third quarter, Preston Lyons recovered the Loggers fumble caused by a bad punt snap. The next play, quarterback MJ Ybarra ran it in to make the first score of the second half, leaving the Lions down 12-14. It was TJ Martinez who made the next score, receiving a 13 yard pass from Ybarra. Cobie Mayes followed up with a completed pass to seal the 2-point conversion, putting the Lions up 20-14. The Loggers answered back with a score to tie the game with 4:02 left in the third quarter. However, that would be the Loggers last score of the day with the Lions pulling ahead. Ybarra scored a touchdown with a 5 yard run at the end of the quarter, with Nick Howser making the extra point. Finally, Preston Lyons punched the ball in from the 1-yard line to score the final touchdown with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions finished the game winning 33-20, as their defense held the Loggers scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Coach Twigg, first year head coach, led the Lions to their first win of the season and also earned the first win in his collegiate head coaching career. "I'm proud of the team for overcoming and pushing through. We got down early and we never quit. In the second half, we executed well and played hard. Because of that, we came out with a victory."
Individual Statistics
MJ Ybarra, the Lions' quarterback, led the team with 21 completed passes, totaling 180 yards. TJ Martinez received 9 of those passes, followed by Cobie Mayes receiving 7 passes. Christian Fischer, sophomore running back, led in rushing yards with a total of 70 yards, averaging 3.5 yards per carry.
The Lions' defense also made a huge impact in the outcome of the game. Three interceptions were made by the defense, completed by Clay Roberts, Yuri Brady, and Tay'drionne Veland. Preston Lyons and Veland also each recovered a Loggers fumble. Senior Elijah Christensen dominated on the defensive line as he forced a loss of 30 yards with 3 quarterback sacks. Dakota King also completed 1 sack for a loss of 3 yards.
Looking Ahead
The Trinity Bible College Lions will have their next game against Dakota State University JV on Monday, September 30th on their home field. This will be an afternoon game, beginning at 4:00pm.