By Dan McGrath
An invitation to the Prep Bowl playoffs extended the Leo Lions’ football season by a week, but the extra game ended pretty much the way seven of the previous nine had.
De La Salle (2-8) halted a seven-game losing streak with a 28-14 victory at De La Salle on Thursday, Nov. 3. The Meteors moved on to face Fenwick in the Prep Bowl semifinals, while the Lions finished 2-8 in Coach Mike Holmes’ farewell season.
The game turned with stunning swiftness in the third quarter. Leo erased the hosts’ 14-6 halftime lead on their first second-half possession when sophomore Javon Logan broke loose for 60 yards on three straight runs of 16, 38 and six yards, the last one good for a touchdown. Jamari Winters added the two-point conversion on a jet sweep.
Three plays later, De La Salle’s David Coffey circled right end and found no one between him and the Lions’ end zone, taking off on a 52-yard gallop that restored the Meteors’ lead.
The Lions promptly fumbled the next kickoff, giving ‘D’ the ball at the Leo 28-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Amarye Howard found tight end Jordan Coleman in the end zone from 18 yards out. Within a span of a minute 28 seconds, the Meteors had built a two-touchdown lead that would stand up as the final margin.
Howard finished 6-for-10 passing for 111 yards and two touchdowns, the other a 14-yarder to Coleman in the first quarter. He also carried 12 times for 46 yards and a touchdown, from one yard out in the second quarter. Coffey needed just eight carries to amass 104 yards.
Leo ran the ball well all night, with Logan earning a season-best 109 yards on 11 carries, including TD runs of six and 35 yards. But the Lions still had Darion Lee throw 26 passes; he completed 13 for 164 yards with two interceptions.
Five of his completions, for 62 yards, went to senior Kevin Jackson, who also had two kick returns worth 78 yards in his final Leo game. Fellow senior Coby Triplett had three catches for 19 yards, while sophomore Gavin Donald’s three catches accounted for 37 yards.