by Briana Amaro

The Lehman Lobos held strong for approximately the first 20 minutes of Friday’s game against the McCallum Knights. 

But a series of mishaps by Lehman, including a lack of ball control on kickoffs, led the Knights to a 26-14 victory in the Lobos’ home opener Friday at Shelton Stadium.

Both teams put up a strong defensive front, with no score after the first quarter. 

Roughly 18-minutes into the game, Lehman stopped McCallum on the Lobo one yard line, forcing a punt by the Knights. But McCallum kept possession after a mishandled ball by Lehman. 

Enter McCallum quarterback Max Perez, whose quick run to the end zone resulted in McCallum gaining a 7-0 lead with approximately three minutes left in the half.

Less than a minute later, Lehman quarterback Jacob Zamora completed a 40-plus yard pass to Tyler Henderson, putting the Lobos in position to score with only seconds left in the first half.

Following a holding call on McCallum, the Lobos scored on an eight yard touchdown run by Bryan Mendoza, tying the score at 7-7 at halftime. 

An early third quarter fumble by Lehman at their own four yard line set McCallum up for what could have been a touchdown. A solid defense by Lehman held its ground, forcing McCallum into a field goal. 

The Lobos’ turnover troubles continued on the next kickoff, as a mishandled ball in the end zone resulted in a safety for McCallum.

Even a series of fumbles and penalties against the Knights didn’t stop Perez, who ran for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Knights a 19-7 lead.

As things looked bleak for the Lobos, the offense fought back, starting with a reverse handoff to Jeremiah Brown. It set the Lobos up for a quarterback keeper from Zamora and Lehman’s next touchdown, pulling the Lobos to within five at 19-14. 

But McCallum tallied one final touchdown to put the game away.