The Bears fell to the Sacred Heart Gators 21-7 on Saturday afternoon in their fourth league matchup of the season, making their overall record 6-3 and their league record 2-2.
Despite starting with the ball, the Bears were unable to gain much ground. Senior wide receiver Angelo Marin secured a third-down conversion with an impressive rush down the sideline, but after failing to get another first down, the Bears punted the ball with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
The Gators’ first possession started off strong, driving the Bears’ defense down the field and culminating in a touchdown with five minutes left in the first quarter after senior Sacred Heart receiver Kyle Chai got past the Bears’ defense, putting the Gators up 7-0.
Back on offense, the Bears’ second drive was better than their first. Marin and senior tight end Jackson Harding caught multiple passes from senior quarterback Xander Eschelman to push the Gators’ defense back into their own territory.
With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Bears were in Gator territory when junior quarterback Teddy Dacey caught a pass from Eschelman giving the Bears a chance to score.
Unfortunately, the Bears were unable to make any more progress and turned the ball over on downs, ending the quarter with the Gators up 7-0.
The Bears’ defense seemed to step it up during the second quarter, holding the Gators scoreless until the very end. Senior linebackers Anthony van der Meer and Devin Hyde, as well as senior defensive end Giles Hayhurst, forced multiple punts from the Gators.
On offense, the Bears were unable to capitalize much and turned over most of their possessions, despite many impressive plays from Marin and junior running backs Eva Ama and Monty Turner.
Unfortunately for the Bears, their secondary continued to get beat by the Gator receivers, and with two minutes left in the half, senior Sacred Heart receiver McKinley Palmer scored the Gators their second touchdown on a 69-yard pass, putting them up 14-0.
This gave the Bears’ offense the motivation they needed, and with the second half under two minutes away from expiring, Eschelman and Marin led the Bears down the field.
In their first points of the game, Eschelman connected with Marin for a 35-yard touchdown with 1:07 left in the half. Junior Anthony Perez’s kick soared through the uprights, putting the Bears on the board 14-7.
The Bears’ defense continued their relentless pressure, and with 50 seconds left in the half, van der Meer forced a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive end Jayden Delafuente deep in Gator territory, setting them up with great field position on the cusp of halftime.
With just six seconds remaining, Eschelman’s fourth-down heave to senior wide receiver Josh Olsen fell incomplete, but a pass interference penalty on the Gators gave the Bears one last opportunity to score before halftime.
In the final play, Eschelman connected with Marin right at the goal line, who seemed to have the ball in the endzone. Unfortunately, the referees called Marin short of the goal line, ending the half 14-7 and triggering outrage from the Bears’ sideline and stands.
“If the refs called that I didn’t get in, then I didn’t get in,” Marin said. “During halftime, some of us were upset, but we should have bounced back better. We were all down when we should’ve kept our morale up.”
Despite a strong effort from the Bears’ primary coming into the third quarter, the Gators once again took advantage of a weak presence in the secondary from the Bears. Chai got his second touchdown of the game on a 56-yard pass with 9:50 left in the third quarter, increasing the Gators’ lead to 21-7.
During the second half, the Bears were plagued by injuries, putting many of their starters out of commission, including Eschelman and Harding. Ama was in and out of the game during the third quarter after several hard hits.
The Bears also faced a lot of penalties. Throughout the entire game, they had nine penalties called on them, totaling 70 yards, which was more than double the four that were called on the Gators, totaling 35 yards.
The Bears’ offense continued to push back as Dacey took over as quarterback, driving down the field.
With six minutes left in the quarter, the Bears were unable to secure a third-down conversion, punting the ball back to the Gators.
Fortunately for the Bears, their defense held, and four minutes later, the Gators turned the ball over on downs, giving the Bears the ball at the 45-yard line with a full quarter ahead of them.
Now in the fourth quarter and down 21-7, the Bears were able to barely push into Gator territory before they also turned the ball over on downs.
The Bears’ defense once again stopped the Gators’ drive, and with ten minutes left in the half, the Gators punted to the Bears, giving them the ball at their 23-yard line.
Throughout the fourth quarter, flags were thrown for almost every play. A fifteen-yard horse-collar penalty on the Gators was nullified by two penalties on the Bears less than a minute later.
An eight-yard rush from the Bears was brought back after a holding call on the Bears.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, Chai intercepted a pass from Dacey, lowering M-A’s spirits.
Still, the Bears’ defense did not give up, and with three minutes left, they forced the Gators to punt the ball away to the Bears’ 15-yard line.
The Bears were able to drive down to the 50-yard line, but with two minutes left, they were unable to convert on fourth down. A pass thrown by Dacey was just a yard short of a first down, turning the ball over.
The Gators kneeled the ball away to end the game with a win, 21-7.
“Once we started to see that Sacred Heart came here to play and that we didn’t have the lead, people started to self-defeat themselves and turn on each other,” Hyde said.
“We came out with absolutely no energy, no effort, and it was super dry from the beginning, and they just took advantage of that,” junior wide receiver JT Roeder said.
The Bears will travel to play the Wilcox Chargers on Friday at 7:00 p.m. for their last game of the regular season.
The Bears’ offensive line blocking during a play. 
Senior quarterback Xander Eschelman before snapping the ball. 
Junior wide receiver JT Roeder on the line of scrimmage. 
Senior linebacker Semisi Tuipulotu (right) and junior strong safety Matei Tau (left) before a play. 
Seniors Devin Hyde (right) and Malachi Meafua (left) on defense. 
Senior linebacker Anthony van der Meer on the field after a play. Junior quarterback Teddy Dacey snaps the ball. 
Senior linebacker Devin Hyde lines up on the ball. 
Junior running back Eva Ama blocking a defender. 
The scoreboard at the end of the game.
