By Sam Adams

In a 21-21 draw with Lynwood this Friday, the Wolverine football team remained undefeated through the second game of the season. In front of a quiet crowd at Ted Slavin Field, the team missed several chances at victory en route to the tie game. 

The game was as evenly matched as the score suggests, and no team held a lead larger than seven points at any given moment.

TeRhon O'Neal '09 put the first points on the board with a six-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Quarterback Sean Berman '09 connected with receiver Matt Bagnard '09 for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter and again with Jackson Liguori '10 in the third quarter.



Liguori, playing his first game of the season after sitting out the opener due to a knee injury, stepped up to replace receiver Corey Vann '09 after Vann sat out for a period after cramping up late in the game. Vann, a favorite target for Berman, finished the game with 10 completions despite his time out.

Kicker Brian Hentschel '10 went 0-3 in field goals in the game, including a 51-yard attempt in the last minute of the game.

With the score tied in the final seconds of the game, Lynwood took over the ball deep in their own territory. They were pushed back to their own 2-yard line, almost ending the game with a last-second safety.

Lynwood played with a heavily run-centric offense, only throwing short or screen passes.

Eumont said that Lynwood's defense focused on trying to shut down O'Neal, who proved himself as a threat in last week's thrashing of Franklin.

"They were determined to stop [O'Neal] this week, but we tried to work around that," Head Coach Vic Eumont said.



Eumont had the option, as the home coach, to push the game into overtime, but elected not to due to injury concerns.

"We had guys cramping up towards the end of the game, and that only gets worse if you go into overtime," Eumont said. "You see college teams, with dozens of players, and even they get worn out in overtime. At least for a non-league game, it was the right choice."

However, the tie puts the team into a type of purgatory in terms of morale.

"For a tie, you think about all the little things you could've done to win it," Berman said. "In some ways, it's worse than a loss."

Starting center Jake Lasker '10 was out of the game this week with a sprained joint in his shoulder. Danny Marenzi '11 filled in for him, and trainers expect Lasker to be ready by the next game.

The varsity game began at 7:30 p.m. after a faculty appreciation dinner of In-and-Out double-double cheeseburgers on the Flag Court. A  large group of faculty attended the game sporting "Faculty Fanatics" tee shirts.

The Wolverines have a bye next week, and play Rosemead at home on Sept. 26. The game will be their last at Slavin until they open league play with the homecoming game versus St. Bernard on Oct. 17.