Lions Sports Update (09/25)

VOLLEYBALL
The varsity volleyball team faced two strong club teams this past week. On Tuesday, the Lions traveled to Northlake to take on the Red River Rattlers. In a back-and-forth match that saw both teams take 2 games, the Lions prevailed in game 5 to win the match 3-2. Then, the team hosted the DASCHE Spartans on Thursday night.  Falling behind early to a powerful hitting Spartan squad, the Lions rallied to eke out a win in game 1. The momentum would stay with the Lions as they would take games 2 and 3 to win the match 3-0. This week, the Lions are on the road for two matches as they travel to Trinity Valley on Tuesday and Greenhill on Friday. They hope to avenge an early season loss to the Hornets while spoiling their homecoming game. 

FOOTBALL
On Friday night, the varsity football team hosted the TCA Trojans for the first time since 2009. The Trojans took a 25-14 lead into the half, bolstered by a solid running game and big plays in the passing game. The Lions responded by scoring 40 unanswered points in the second half and improving to 3-1 on the season. This marked the first win over a TAPPS D1 opponent since 2006. The Lions defense rallied to a second-half shutout, sparked by William Everitt (16 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack), Henry Estes (11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack), Mac Saye (17 tackles), Jack Baker (8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack), and critical interceptions from Ford Robinson and Noah Williams in the second half. Offensively, the Lions racked up 528 total yards, including 305 rushing yards. Lawrence Gardner and Max Bean each rushed for over 100 yards and David Dickson added 2 rushing touchdowns. Gardner threw for 197 yards to a host of receivers and accounted for 4 total touchdowns. Overall, a total team effort allowed for the Lions’ comeback victory. This Friday, the 3-1 Lions travel to Plano to take on the Cardinals of John Paul II in the first-ever matchup between the schools’ football programs.

WATER POLO
The varsity water polo team traveled to California to take on some of the top teams in the country at the Villa Park Classic last weekend. It was an excellent showing for the team, which scored 6th overall. The Lions would go on to defeat Aliso Niguel HS in their first game and Lake Oswego HS in their second game, and after a rough first quarter in the third game, the Lions would go goal for goal with the top-ranked Santa Margareta HS, but come up short in defeat.  In their fourth game, the Lions would defeat El Dorado HS in a thriller, which put St. Mark’s in the 5th place contest in the tournament, which they would lose to Servite 13-9.  For the weekend, the goal totals were: Geheb 13, Liu 12, Chen 7, Brower 4, Scheiner 3, Ouyang 3, Diep 3, Nguyen 2, Lee 1, Melvin 1.  
And the assists totals were: Brower 8, Scheiner 7, Chen 6, Liu 3, Diep 3, Melvin 3, Geheb 2, Ouyang 2, Nguyen 2, Lee 1.  This week, the team will host their Senior Night on Thursday at Jesuit at 6 pm against John Paul II.  

CROSS COUNTRY
The varsity cross country team was off this past week as they tune up for the Jesuit Classic on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Prestonwood Polo Club in Oak Point, TX.  

ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
Sahil Dodda ’22, a UPenn Cross Country team member, finished 10th out of 207 total runners at the Spiked Shoe Invitational hosted by Penn State on Sept. 13. Read more HERE.