Gardner, Parker Lift Lions Past Hornets
By Michael Finnegan / Contributor
Lawrence Gardner and Mateu Parker got the St. Mark’s offense rolling early on Friday, and the defense stepped up to the challenge, too.
The Lions dominated Greenhill 38-14 at Brinkmann Field thanks to three touchdowns from the quarterback-receiver duo.
Gardner found Parker on a 66-yard bomb to open the scoring and a 30-yard strike later in the first quarter to get St. Mark’s on track.
“Gardner is coming along nicely in his first year as the starting quarterback,” said St. Mark’s head coach Harry Flaherty. “When he gets his feet set, he can make all the passes.”
The Hornets threatened on the opening drive in the third quarter, but a touchdown pass from William Black to Noah Piper was called back after a holding penalty. Black connected with Josiah Christian for an 18-yard gain on third and long, but Greenhill turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth-down conversion.
The Lions (2-1) increased the lead to 21-0 at the 6:32 mark of the third quarter after another Gardner to Parker connection from 65 yards out.
“This one stings,” said Greenhill head coach K.J. Williams. “But adversity is good and this game prepares us for next week’s game against John Paul II.”
Greenhill drove the length of the field late in the third quarter and scored on a 5-yard run by Andrew Puplampu to make the score 21-7.
Jack Baker recovered a fumble for the Lions deep in Greenhill territory, and St. Mark’s capitalized on the turnover when Gardner took a designed quarterback run from the 5-yard line to increase the lead to 28-7 with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“This is the best Greenhill team I’ve faced”, said Flaherty, now in his fourth year at the helm. “They are extremely athletic, especially at the skill positions.”
The St. Mark’s defense pressured Black the entire game, sacking him four times and causing several throw-away passes.
Henry McGill’s 32-yard field goal put St. Mark’s ahead 31-7 midway through the fourth quarter, and back-up quarterback Blaize Schumacher’s touchdown pass to Matthew Wier increased the lead to 38-7 with just over three minutes left in the game.
Black’s 45-yard bomb to Bryson Watt late in the game put the Hornets (1-2) in the red zone, and the two connected again on a 20-yard touchdown to make it 38-14.
The Lions have scored at least 34 points in all three of their games this season heading into a matchup at Trinity Christian next week.
