Lions and Tigers wrap up fall campaign this Friday
The Lions and Tigers will try to finish up a challenging gridiron campaign on a high note this Friday, Oct. 26, when they wrap up their respective league schedules.
The Lions (1-3, 2-6) are coming off a 48-30 loss to Montgomery in their Redwood Division outing on Oct. 19 and will finish the schedule against winless Elsie Allen in Forestville this Friday, Oct. 26, in a 7:30 p.m. varsity kickoff (Senior Night).
The Tigers (1-3, 3-6), who fell to Rancho Cotate 52-0 in Friday’s Oak Division meeting, will be out to shock the world when they visit state-ranked Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa in a 7 p.m. start.
“Rancho has a really good team, so we knew it was going to be an uphill battle from the start,” Analy head coach James Foster said. “We have to beat Newman this week to make the North Coast Section playoffs.”
Lions hang tough in loss
El Molino had the odds stacked against them when they invaded hostile territory at league-champion Montgomery on Friday, hoping to hand the Vikings their first NBL loss.
The Lions gave the Vikings all they wanted, as quarterback Wyatt Stringfellow engineered an opening drive resulting in an 18-yard field goal from Sam Wilson-Mietz. El Mo would answer a pair of Montgomery scores with touchdowns from Wilson-Mietz (6-yard run) and Finnegan Ransome (58-yard pass reception) to keep it interesting in trailing 21-17 at the half.
The Vikings gained separation with a pair of third-quarter scores for a 35-17 lead, but the Lions put together a drive highlighted by a big pass play from Stringfellow to Ransome and culminating in a 15-yard scoring burst from Wilson-Mietz to make it 35-24. The Lions would cut the deficit to 41-30 in the fourth quarter when Wilson-Mietz found receiver Ryan Palmer on a halfback option pass, but the Vikings added a late insurance score en route to a 48-30 win.
“Our guys played really hard,” El Mo head coach Randy Parmeter said. “But Montgomery came up with some big plays in the second half that stretched out the lead.”
