When Coach Dayley gathered the players around him before the kickoff, he told them what he knew about the Lions. He’d talked to his friend who coached Palos Verdes—the Palos Verdes Vikings had faced Redondo Beach in their opener—and found out the Lions were big and physical and loved running the ball so much they might not throw ten passes the whole game. “Might be one of those low-scoring deals today,” Coach Dayley said. “But I’m good with that, long as we’re the ones who did the most scoring at the end.” Not only was it a low-scoring game into the third quarter, it was a no-scoring game. Both teams had had one good chance in the first half. But Jarrod Benedict had fumbled on Redondo Beach’s five-yard line when he’d try to keep it himself and score on an option play. When it looked as if the Lions might take the lead right before halftime, having driven the ball from their own twenty, about half the Cardinals’ defense—Charlie included, in there for a big moment—stuffed their fullback on a fourth-and-goal from the two.
