On Aug. 30 at Butler Stadium the Bellaire Varsity Cardinals lost to Alief Taylor 22-9 in their first game of the 2013 high school football season.

The game lead off to a slow start with neither teams putting up any points on the board. Both defenses looked strong, constantly breaking through the defensive line to put serious pressure on the quarterbacks. The Cardinals failed to achieve a first down until the second quarter, 14 minutes into play.

In the second quarter, Taylor fumbled a punt and lost possession as the Cardinals recovered it and advanced to the 39-yard line. This major shift in momentum lead to a subsequent touchdown with junior quarterback Trevon Smith finding sophomore wide receiver Courtney Lark in the corner of the end zone. A failed extra point put the Cardinals up to a 6-0 lead.

The Lions immediately answered back with a long run to the Cardinals’ 23-yard line, and followed with a rushing touchdown to tie the game 6-6 at the half.

Smith started off the third quarter by throwing an interception, but the Cardinals were able to prevent any damage. They took advantage of a Lions missed field goal when Smith threw a 50+ yard pass to senior wide receiver Ryheem Malone. Malone would go on to return a kick for 30 yards in the fourth quarter.

Despite big plays like this, the Cardinals failed to capitalize in the red zone, and after Malone’s catch they settled for a field goal to take the lead 9-6.

From there things fell off the rails. The next play, Taylor ran 80 yards for a touchdown and executed the extra point to make the game 13-9.

After coming up with an interception late in the third quarter, the Cardinals fumbled the ball in their own end zone, resulting in a safety. The score was 15-9 by the end of the quarter.

The Lions ended the night with a 13-yard rushing touchdown with two minutes left in the fourth to win the game 22-9.

Bellaire will take on Fort Bend Travis next Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Mercer Stadium.