After the onside kick recovery, the Cardinals ran a play that looked like a run right up the middle, which is why Mills’ defense looked utterly confused after tackling sophomore quarterback Shane McCarthy and watching freshman running back Ernest Marshall run down the Mills sideline for a touchdown. The perfectly executed play ended the game at 22-17 and wiped Mills players’ grins off their faces almost as quickly as Marshall had sprinted into the endzone.

“I thought I wasn’t gonna make it,” Marshall laughed. “I have to give most of the blocking credit.”

Before the comeback, Mills rallied coming into the fourth quarter with a field goal that brought them back into the game at 10-16. When Lowell was stopped on fourth and one trying to run out the clock, the Mills sideline exploded. An efficient drive down the field handed Mills the lead and what appeared to be a comeback win. At least, until Marshall matter-of-factly handed the ball back to the referee after his 50-yard touchdown run and all the happiness felt by Mills’ sideline imploded into helplessness.

“It was a really close game,” said sophomore right tackle Eric Sardino, grinning. Nonetheless, sophomore middle linebacker and fullback Arthur Balustyan thought that they still had a chance after Mills’ touchdown. “We had practiced a lot, and we were disciplined throughout the game,” he said.

First-time coach Ken Jew said he knew they could beat them. “It looked like a close game,” he said, but explained that he wasn’t letting the team play at full throttle. “Most of the players were freshman with no experience,” he said. “The team relies on returning sophomores as leaders.” Jew, who has been with the JV team for four years, knew Mills’ strengths and weaknesses from previous matches and effectively used that to the team’s advantage. This is the first time that Lowell has won against Mills in three years.

However, the victory was not perfect. Jew described Lowell’s offense against Mills as “pretty good for a bunch of freshman” but voiced concerns about the endurance level of the defensive line. He said that he would improve this problem through more conditioning during practices.

Jew has many players he hopes will shine throughout the season. McCarthy, a former JV soccer goalie, never played football ball before but “showed leadership” in his first game. Sophomore wing backs Justin Shy and Ronald Ng provided veteran leadership to the mostly young squad of starters on defense, he said, along with freshman Nick Florio, a 300-pound lineman who “hasn’t even been conditioned yet.”

Later, on Sep. 14, Lowell crushed Riordan 33-12, with McCarthy, who is also the team’s safety, picking off two interceptions and Marshall, playing as linebacker, picking off another interception and returning it for a touchdown. “This game was really important, because it was the last game before the regular season starts,” sophomore running back and cornerback Justin Tsai said. “It’s a really good confidence booster. We’re really ready for the season to start.”

JV football’s next game is at 3 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Washington. Jew is not concerned about facing Lowell’s archrival and said that they will “find their weaknesses” just like they did against Mills.