The Bears got shutout in their first loss of the season by the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs on Friday night. After starting off strong with two blowout wins, the Bears had a difficult game, falling 0-21.
Senior cornerback Kareem Franklin started the game with his first interception of the year off a tip drill. However, the Bears’ offense failed to capitalize on their strong field position and turned the ball over shortly after on downs.
The Bears’ defense stood strong, forcing a punt right after. With 3:05 left in the first quarter, Mitty brought their first interception of the game.
After a couple of turnovers on downs by both teams, it was M-A’s ball again. But Mitty’s strong defense received another turnover by an interception. Yet, Mitty’s offense didn’t take advantage, and they missed their field goal to conclude the second quarter.
The Bears received good field position after a strong kick return by Franklin to start the third quarter. But soon after, another turnover cut a drive short, as junior quarterback Teddy Dacey and junior running back Evaimalo Ama’s miscommunication on a handoff led to a fumble.
This time, the Monarchs profited from the fumble, with a two-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. The Monarchs made the extra point with 6:48 still left in the third quarter.
The Bears’ offense still couldn’t get it rolling, leading to another punt. With 2:23 left in the quarter, Mitty continued their exceptional offense, passing another one-yard touchdown. M-A was struggling to keep up, now down 0-14.
The Bears were desperate to get something rolling on offense but couldn’t find it. They threw their third interception of the game, and once again the Monarchs took advantage of the turnover and scored their third touchdown game from a one-yard rush, with 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
Fighting to close the gap in the final quarter, M-A had yet another disappointing drive, ending on another turnover. Mitty ran the clock out and punted the ball to the Bears, who had no choice but to let the clock roll out, concluding the game 0-21.
“Coming off of two big wins, you start to let your foot off the gas,” junior lineman Jordan Lavulo said. “We’re ready to punch someone in the mouth.”
Senior quarterback Xander Eschelman said he expects the team to “come out firing, and play with great intensity and swag” next week.
The Bears will go head to head against Live Oak at home at 7 p.m.
