By Brad Crowe
The Raleigh Lions traveled to Seminary on Friday evening for their fifth game of the season against the Seminary Bulldogs. There were numerous ups and downs throughout the evening for both teams. In the end, a lack of sustained success on offense for the Lions caused them to fall short for the fourth consecutive week, this time by a final score of 23-7.
After a scoreless first quarter, senior Kris Moncrief drew first blood with a 10-yard touchdown run mid-way through the second. Luis Aguire’s extra point attempt was good, giving the Lions a 7-0 advantage. On the last drive of the first half, the Bulldogs worked their way deep into the red zone for an opportunity to tie the game. However, the Lions’ defense stood their ground, and the Bulldogs settled for a field goal. Raleigh owned a 7-3 advantage going into the locker room.
Five minutes into the third quarter, the Bulldogs conjured the biggest and possibly most impactful offensive play of the evening: a 70-yard touchdown pass. A successful two-point conversion gave them an 11-7 lead over the visiting Lions at the end of three-quarters. On the ensuing drive, the Lions committed a turnover for the first time of the night, resulting in a short field and another field goal for the Bulldogs.
Down by seven points with eight minutes remaining, the Lions were still in good shape with an opportunity to get back into the contest. However, the offense stalled once again, and a high snap on the punt resulted in a turnover on downs inside the 20. Seminary capitalized on the good field position with a late touchdown to extend the lead to 20-7. Moments later, the Bulldogs defense recorded their third takeaway of the quarter, resulting in one last field goal for good measure, bringing the game to its final score of 23-7.
The Lions now sit at 1-4 on the season after their penultimate non-district contest. Next Friday they will be back on their home turf to host the Mendenhall Tigers (3-1) with one last opportunity to make adjustments and build momentum before beginning their district slate and competing for postseason positioning.
