The Mavericks went into St. Mark’s week feeling positive about their chances against the Lions. After 300 yards rushing against the best defense in the Southwest Preparatory Conference in their game against Episcopal the week before, the team felt confident that they could execute even without star running back Malcolm Sturgis.

A lot was riding on the game, as a Maverick win would have resulted in a 6-2 record and a chance to play for the SPC title game. The Mavs fell short, however, in a heartbreaking 35-34 loss to the Lions, ending any shot at an SPC title game.

“We didn’t play a great game at all,” captain Charles Sampson said. “We are better than that, and it’s really unfortunate we couldn’t get the job done.”

The Mavs managed to gain over 400 yards on offense, but could not find any big plays, with the longest play of the night going just 23 yards and a couple of timely penalties.

“St. Mark’s did a great job game planning for us,” junior guard Emerson Knapp said. “They stopped our veer play and they were physical for the entire game. We just have to improve as a unit, and I know we will for Kinkaid”.

The defense gave up a similar yard total, but 210 of the Lion’s yards came off of four scoring plays.

“We can’t make mental mistakes,” senior and defensive lineman Frank Willey said. “We were really good 90% of the time, but it has to be higher. If we made a couple of tackles in the open field, we would be celebrating and getting ready for a chance at a title game. Instead, we’re out of it. That’s football.”

A surprising play occurred in the 4th quarter, when junior guard Roman Lewis inadvertently caught a pass from Wesley Gow and took off for nearly 35 yards. Though Lewis was ineligible to receive the ball, his teammates agreed that it was an extraordinary play.

“I’ve always known Roman was capable of moving like that, but I was just shocked to see how hard it was to tackle him,” center Michael Spedale said.

With all of the action on the field, many seniors forgot it was their last game at Skip Lee. They were honored and processed on the field with their parents during the Senior Night ceremony.

“It’s crazy to think that we’re done,” captain Brock Cannon said. “It doesn’t feel that long ago that we were battling Episcopal on JV. We’ve had great support from the coaches, our parents, and fans, but we still have unfinished business next week.”

The Mavericks play Kinkaid Nov. 3 at 7:00 at Rice Stadium.