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Lincoln Lions Mascots were ready to raise the spirits of people. (Photo credit by Andrea Ramirez)

(UPDATE 10/30/14, 14:15 PST, fixed the attribution of a play to the wrong number player)

The Lions took a 14-7 loss against the Sobrato Bulldogs Friday night, unable to follow up on an early lead in the first quarter. Lincoln’s sole touchdown came from a 34-yard run by wide receiver Aldin Besirevic (#44), just three and a half minutes into the game.

Sobrato’s Nick Secolo (#12) scored a touchdown in quarter one and his teammate Darius Wheeler (#34) added another to bypass Lincoln midway through quarter two. After that, the scoring screeched to a halt for the remainder of the game as both teams employed aggressive defense.

The Lions spent the final minutes of both quarters three and four in possession, and came as close as 35 yards from the end zone while the crowd cheered them on, but were never able to make up their deficit before the clock expired.

With the loss of a key player, Jacob Hoekstra (#12), due to an injury, Besirevic was on the receiving end of at least five incomplete touchdown passes and rushed for many of Lincoln’s attempts at scoring. The quarterback, Robert Zamora (#7), as always, played an important role.

When it came to defense, the Lions were fierce in their tackling, not permitting the Bulldogs to widen the gap or move the ball very far at all, with one or two exceptions.

This loss makes Lincoln’s overall record lopsided at 2-4. With a 1-2 record for league play, the team has beaten Gunderson, but fallen to Westmont and Sobrato in two consecutive weeks. However, this coming Thursday, Lincoln has a strong shot at triumphing over Evergreen Valley, a team which has yet to win a game in either pre-season or league play.

Friday’s game had a theme of Breast Cancer Awareness, which included a donation table, a moment of silence, cheerleaders using pink pom-poms, and the distribution of pink balloons by Lincoln’s mascot. Four such balloons were observed rising high into the atmosphere above the football field during the game. A number of players from both teams showed their support by wearing pink socks.

The next football games will be played at the Lincoln High School stadium on Thursday, Oct. 30, as Friday is Halloween. Junior Varsity will begin at 4 pm and Varsity will begin at 7 pm.