Despite allowing 28 first-half points, sophomore wingback Nathaniel Banks and wingback David Kwong kept the Cardinals' score close. Banks scored on a 40-yard sprint. Kwong broke a 48-yard reverse run for a touchdown to bring the score to 28-12.

In the third quarter, Kwong reached the promised land after a 45-yard dash, bringing the Cardinals to within seven points of the Mustangs.

Within the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals did something they hadn't done yet this season: lead. Freshman running back Ryan Louie's touchdown put Lowell up by one point (28-27).

The next six minutes, however, would be the longest six minutes of the game. At this point, the Cardinals' main goal was to stop Lincoln, but they failed with a false start and other similar violations. That set the offense back several yards, and launched head coach Joe Pascucci into a tirade.

At the zenith of the Cardinals' missteps, with one minute and thirty seconds left, came a hideously bad coaching call. On fourth down, after the Cardinals had been unable to gain any yardage, they opted to go for the first down rather than to punt. After an unsuccessful run, Lincoln gained control of the ball and promptly scored the winning touchdown.

With such little time left on the clock and Lincoln leading 35-28, the Cardinals tried desperately to even the score, creating a frantic sense of urgency on the Cardinals' sideline. But this urgency was not met with results. The game ended in a disappointing loss for the Cardinals.

At the end of the game, a parent expressed his frustration with the coach's call. "You should have given these kids a (fighting) chance to win," he said.

Later the coach admitted to the team, "I made the wrong decision and we should have punted the ball."

Players were disappointed with the coach's decision but felt that the one call was not the deciding factor of the game. "We shouldn't have given the other team a chance like that," sophomore Wang Han said. "(The defense) should have made plays in that situation. And that wouldn't have mattered if we had played better earlier in the first half."

The game revealed some of the flaws in the Cardinals' lineup. With more than half of the returning sophomores injured, the team lacks experience this season.

"We basically have a brand new team," assistant coach Kent Jew said. "We have an inexperienced backfield, and basically we have so many new players, but so little time to prepare. We are, however, making great progress in all aspects of the game as the players begin to mature."

The Cardinals' next home game will be held at 3:00 p.m. today against Galileo.