Tonight the University Lab Cubs took on the Baker High Buffaloes and were victorious. The Buffaloes and Cubs played hard, swiftly, and passionately throughout the entire game despite the entirely cold temperatures.
The first half of the game started with the Buffaloes’ defense doing a great job covering the Cubs’ receivers, making it hard for Tanner Lawson (QB, #2) to find an open player. Lawson still managed to find Gilbert (#1) all the way down field and the ball was almost snagged by the Buffalos, but it amazingly bounced off the hands of the defender and was caught by Gilbert as he fell back into the end zone. The field goal was good and then the Cubs also managed to recover their kickoff to Baker which was a huge momentum grab, especially since they just scored. Evans (#5) had a great run that placed his team just shy of a touchdown but they struggled to make it happen. Bakers’ defense was not letting up so the Cubs opted for an unsuccessful field goal. Jaquelin Roy (#78) on University Lab made a huge stop in the back field that caused the Buffaloes to lose some yards and this was followed by a bad kick that left U High starting on Bakers’ own 28-yard line. Ard (#10) had a 10- yard carry that placed his team closer to the end zone so sure enough Lawson connected with Trevor Evans (#5) and Ohmstede’s (#35) kick was good on this touchdown as well. The Cubs managed to recover another kick off at the Buffaloes’ 47-yard line and Lawson completed a 23-yard pass to Gilbert (#1) after that. Graham (#6) was able to run through the Baker defense and find his way across the 5-yard line while giving his team a first down 3 yards away from another touchdown. He ran the ball on the next play and got that touchdown himself with just 2:58 left in the half. Desmond Windon (#11) of the Baker Buffaloes followed that with 37- yard run that placed his team on the Cubs’ 35-yard line and then Milton ran for another 10 yards. The ball found its way back to the Cubs and Slaughter (#8) had a big 50-yard return but a personal foul against U High brought the ball back. This ended the first half of the game and with that the score was 21-0, University Lab.
The second half of the game there was a huge tackle made by Covington (#4) in the back field that caused a loss for the Cubs. The defense put enough pressure on U High’s offense that they were actually able to take over the ball at the goal line! Windon (#11) scored for the Buffaloes, their first of the night, and they attempted to go for a 2-point conversion that was no good. When the Cubs got the ball back Lawson found Slaughter (#11) deep in Buffalo territory for a huge pass that was unfortunately called back due to an illegal man down field and this swiped the momentum from beneath their feet. Windon (#11) not only performed successfully on offense but showed his versatility as he simultaneously dominated defensively with plenty of huge stops in the second half of the game. He broke up quite a few passes that could have made a big difference in the final score of the game tonight. There was also a fumble by the Buffaloes that was recovered by U high but Jalen Gross (#71) and Cage (#55) helped put an end to the Cubs possession. Desmond Windon got his team down to the 45-yard line one of their final possessions and slowly the Cubs were stealing the momentum and finding their rhythm. Milton ran down field and Knighten, the Buffaloes quarterback, threw him a 55-yard pass that was complete for another Baker touchdown. The Buffaloes attempted for another 2-point conversion which was successful as Knighten connected Covington (#4). This made the score 21-14, U High, and this was the final score of tonight’s game.
