Falcons outlast Cardinals
Cardinal Newman 12
Ben Lippen 14
By George Kaupp

Cardinal Newman's Palmer Stokes (#5) runs the ball while Ben Lippen's Josh cox (#51) closes in. Stokes rushed 19 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. Cox had 13 tackles and three sacks. Photo by Jim Marczesky

Ben Lippen turned two Cardinal Newman turnovers into touchdowns early in the third quarter and then withstood a furious Cardinal rally to win 14-12 at Ben Lippen.

The first half of the game favored Cardinal Newman (2-2, 0-1) everywhere but the scoreboard. After forcing a punt on the Falcons' first possession, the Cardinals drove the ball 68 yards before turning it over on downs. After another punt, the Cardinals marched 74 yards before a costly interception by Jones Brown at the Falcon 11 left Cardinal Newman scoreless. Once again, Ben Lippen (3-2, 1-0) was forced to punt, and the Cardinals took advantage of good field position to drive into field goal range. However, Cardinal Newman kicker Collins Harper hit the upright with his 46-yard attempt, and the teams went into the half deadlocked at 0.

In the second half, the Ben Lippen defense turned up the pressure on the Cardinals forcing them to punt. A bad snap led to Harper attempting to pick up the first down, but he was stopped short turning the ball over to Ben Lippen. The Falcons used only five plays to get into the end zone with Kyle Williamson catching a pass from quarterback Greg Dunston and racing 20 yards into the end zone. The conversion made it 7-0.

The next possession by Cardinal Newman was stopped when Brown was picked off again. This time, the Falcons needed six plays, but they scored again on a 1-yard run by Aaron Emard. After three quarters, the Falcons had a 14-0 lead.

The Cardinals got the spark they needed when a fumbled exchange between Dunston and Rob Brigman was recovered by Phillip Thompson.

Cardinal Newman wasted no time exploiting the turnover, needing only two plays to score with Will Garnett rumbling the last 11 yards for the touchdown. The extra point was missed leaving CN down 14-6.

On their next possession, Ben Lippen was driving when Dunston hit Williamson again, but this time Garnett put his helmet on the ball causing a fumble. Kevin Bauknight picked up the loose ball and returned it 19 yards to the Falcon 46. The Cardinals were determined to score, as they converted two third-down plays and a fourth down on the drive. The drive was capped by a 5-yard run by Palmer Stokes. Forced to go for two because of the earlier missed kick, the Cardinals ran the ball but were stopped just short of the goal line. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Falcons, and Ben Lippen ran out the clock to claim the victory.

Dunston led the Falcons with 90 yards passing, and Brigman had 40 yards rushing. The Cardinals were paced by Brown's 131 total yards and Stokes' 100 yards.

Cardinal Newman plays Friday, September 29, at Hammond. Ben Lippen travels to Heathwood Hall.