Last year, Lincoln and their up-and-coming running back David Henderson slashed the Lowell varsity football team from the playoffs. Then a sophomore, Henderson was just beginning to make a name for himself when he led his Mustangs to an AAA championship. This year, it has been difficult to open up a Bay Area newspaper without reading the junior's name. When he ran a San Francisco record 411 yards versus Balboa earlier this season, he established himself as the city's premier player. However, the Cardinals seemed thoroughly unimpressed with the hype surrounding Henderson.

Lianna Leal Lowell defense shuts down Henderson

"We didn't let the hype intimidate us," senior co-captain and quarterback Carter Rockwell said. "Our defense is capable of shutting anyone down." And with the exception of two plays, the gritty Cardinal defense did just that; they made Lincoln's star a mere mortal.

In their Oct. 13 match-up at Lowell, the Cardinals proved the value of teamwork in their 14-13 avenging of last year's loss. With the exception of two spectacular touchdown runs, the Lowell defense did a superb job containing Henderson. He scored 12 of the Mustangs' 13 points, was given the ball on an astounding 75% of their offensive plays, and nearly did win the game all by himself. However, Lowell's bruising ball control offense led by the quintet of junior Bismark Navarro and seniors JR Ayalde, Anurat Rojanapairat, Marcos Cronander and Duc Anh Le was simply too strong to lose.

"All of the papers always predict us to lose, but they don't take into account team chemistry," senior linebacker Christian Gruber said. Indeed, the San Francisco Chronicle picked Lowell to come in third place in the league in their preseason poll. Since then, Lincoln has constantly received press in the "Honorable Mention" portion of their Bay Area team rankings, while Lowell has been virtually ignored.

"The things that stats don't measure, we have the most of," Gruber said. "We all have complete faith in the man standing next to us." That faith was put to the test on several occasions against the Mustangs.

On their first possession of the game, the Cardinals trudged 70 yards downfield; their massive drive totaled 21 consecutive running plays and spanned over ten minutes, yet yielded zero points. After a trade in possessions and a botched punt, the Mustangs and Henderson struck the game's first blow.

The Mustangs took over on the Cardinal 35 yard-line with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half. On the first play of the drive, Henderson made several gasp-worthy cuts and dashed untouched into the end zone before anyone could realize what had happened. One fan was overheard saying, "I just blinked, and next thing I knew, he's standing in the end zone." One had to wonder if the Cardinals could keep up. For all of their hard work and technique during their early marathon drive, Henderson simply out-talented them and staked his team a lead.

Down 7-0, Navarro immediately breathed some much-needed life into the sickly Cardinal cheering section. Fielding the Mustang kickoff from his own 30 yard-line, the junior darted and weaved his way to a 30-yard return, igniting the Lowell sideline. The invigorated Cardinals charged 40 yards downfield, with Cronander capping off the drive with a tough five-yard touchdown run up the gut. Le added an exclamation point to the drive with a two-point conversion, giving his Cardinals an 8-7 lead going into the second half.

"As soon as we scored we knew we had the momentum," senior co-captain and defensive end Pat Schock said. "We could just look at the other sideline and know that we had the game won."

Lianna Leal Cronander crests the goal line

Lowell opened the second half with a drive eerily similar to their epic first quarter charge. Starting from their own 31 yard-line, the Cardinals drove 69 yards, beating the Mustangs into submission over 17 plays, again, all on the ground. By the time Rojanapairat rammed the ball up the middle for a five-yard touchdown to end the drive, Lowell had milked nearly nine minutes off the clock.

"We're all about wearing the other team down and smashing the ball down (the opponent's) throats," Cronander said.

The teams traded possessions until just under three minutes were left in the 4th quarter, and that's when the fireworks began. The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs on the Mustang 20 yard-line, holding a solid 14-7 lead. Ten seconds and one play later, Henderson was standing in the Cardinal end zone after an electrifying 80-yard dash left Lowell's defense in shambles.

Down by one point, the Mustangs opted for a two-point conversion, and a befuddling coaching call ensued. Though their kicker is among the best in the league, the Mustangs opted to pass — even though their inexperienced sophomore quarterback connected on only one of his four passing attempts earlier in the game. His attempt fluttered awkwardly into the right corner of the end zone, not particularly in the vicinity of any receiver. The perplexing play call and poor execution led to an explosion of euphoria on the Cardinal sideline.

One explanation for the call is that the Mustangs simply didn't have the energy to take the game into overtime. Lowell's run-oriented offense is designed to exhaust their opponent so that by the 4th quarter, they no longer have the energy to stop the plundering Cardinal offense. "Offensively, we dominated them," Schock said. "By the end of the game, they didn't want to play anymore."

After Navarro pounded out one final first down, the Cardinals ran the final minute off the clock, securing their biggest victory of the season. The team's cohesive performance proved to be greater than any one man.

Lowell's Thurs., Oct. 19 game vs. Galileo was too late for press time. Their next game will come against archrival Washington in their annual "Battle of the Birds" game on Oct. 28, at 6 pm at Kezar Stadium.