Written by Mike Woicicki
The Bears came into the Division 7 semi-final playoff game with a 9-2 record. They had beaten their opponent, the Linden Lions, 21 to 20 just three weeks ago, but this time they were unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to the Lions 27 to 21, bringing their season to an end.
The Bears scored the first TD of the night on their first drive. Luke Larson capped it off with a 42-yard dash off left tackle, and things were looking good, but the Lions didn’t flinch. Their first play was an 80-yard TD pass, and with a missed 2-point conversion, the score was 7 to 6. After the long TD pass, the momentum really favored Linden as they scored two more times and took a 19 to 7 lead into halftime.
The third quarter started with the Lions still riding high as they scored again on a one-yard run, capping a 50-yard drive. Down 27 to 7, the Bears did not give up. First, Bryce Leveroos ran one in from 3 yards out, finishing a 65-yard drive. Then, following a successful onside kick, Jeven Rogers capped off a 50-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. So, with five and a half minutes left in the game, the Bears were down just 27 to 21.
The Bears had their last chance to win the game when they recovered a Lions fumble on their own 23-yard line, but the Lions were able to stop the Bears and ran the last minute off the clock to take home the victory.
Bryce Leveroos was the Player of the Game, having a fine night playing both offense and defense, and he also had the Hot Hit of the Game with a nice tackle in the second quarter.
In other playoff action, the Calaveras Red Hawks pulled out a shutout against Denair, 41 to 0. Next Friday, they play Linden.
