After many weather concerns threatened to delay the matchup, the Lions (4-4) traveled to Georgetown and defeated the East View Patriots (3-5) 54-14, scoring the most points in a game since 2012.

“We did great,” senior Matthew Long said. “Our hard work in practice paid off and showed on the field Friday how hard we worked to get the win.”

In the beginning of the first quarter, junior Parker McNeil threw a touchdown pass to sophomore Dalton Flowers, starting the lead for the Lions at 7-0. The Patriots then answered on their next drive by tying the game 7-7. Then, McNeil threw a 25 yard pass to senior Michael Berry, scoring another touchdown with 5:25 left to go in the first. At the end of the first quarter, the Lions led 14-7.

“We were very prepared,” senior Ty Worthy said. “We had been practicing hard all week. Everyone was very ready to win.”

On the Lions’ next drive in the quarter, McNeil threw a touchdown pass to senior Gabriel Sanchez, bringing the lead up to 21-7. On the ensuing kickoff, the Lions kicked an onside kick to get the ball back. However, the offense was stalled, but was quickly given the ball again after senior Raymond Gibson forced the Patriots to fumble and recovered the ball. Then, McNeil threw a touchdown pass to senior Ty Worthy, extending the lead to 28-7. On the Patriots’ next drive, junior Seth Venner intercepted a pass to get the ball back. On the next play, the Lions fumbled giving the ball back to the Patriots. Then, McNeil threw another pass to Berry to score, ending the half with a 35-7 lead. 

“Everyone was playing at a high and intense level, and that gave us an advantage,” Worthy said.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Long broke four tackles to score a touchdown for the Lions. After a missed PAT, the Lions led 41-7. With 5:38 remaining in the third, junior Johnathan Spires scored a touchdown on a 13 yard run. At the end of the third quarter, the Lions led 47-7.

“[To make sure we kept the lead,] we said keep playing, don’t let up, keep our foot on the pedal, finish strong, don’t let them come back,” Long said.

To start off the fourth quarter, the Patriots scored on a 53 yard touchdown pass. With 9:34 remaining in the game, Worthy replaced McNeil at quarterback as the Lions led 47-14. On the Lions’ next drive, senior Levi Boeck rushed for a 49 yard touchdown. Boeck also recovered the Patriots’ muffed kickoff after his score. The final score of the game was 54-14 with the Lions gaining another victory, only needing one more to go to the playoffs.

“Now we have to fix some mistakes we made this Friday and get better and have three great practices this weekend to play Vista,” Long said.

The Lions are 3-2 in district play and face off against the Vista Ridge Rangers (7-1 overall, 4-1 in district) next week for Senior Night at Bible Stadium at 7:30 p.m.