Lions Lose Season Opener to Boynton Beach in Interception-Marred Game, 20-7

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Jim Rassol/Sun-Sentinel

Olympic Heights running back Reis Clark joined five teammates in being named to the Palm Beach Post’s All-Area team.

The Olympic Heights Lions football team, coming fresh off a convincing win over John I. Leonard in the pre-season Kick-Off Classic, ran into a much tougher defense in their season opener against the Boynton Beach Tigers on Friday, Aug. 25, losing 20-7.

Finding themselves down 20-7 late in the third quarter, the Lions staged several threatening drives that were thwarted by intercepted passes as OH quarterback James Micioni was picked off five times in the game, four of those picks coming in the second half of the game.

The Lions got off to a good start as linebacker Troy Jaffy intercepted a Tigers quarterback Kenneth Wiggins pass in the opening drive of the game setting the OH offense up with good field position. Just a few plays later, Lions running back Reis Clark took quarterback James Micioni’s three-yard option pass into the end zone to stake his team to an early 7-0 lead.

However, that would be all the scoring the Lions would muster for the night as most of the remainder of the first half was marred by stalled drives and penalties for both teams until Tigers running back Deondre Smith, who had close to 100 yards rushing on the night, scored late in half to tie the game at 7-7.

The third quarter belonged to the Tigers as they scored twice, the first on a Wiggins third and short quarterback keeper just minutes into the second half. Late in the quarter, Tigers running back Abraham Beauplan ran for 41-yard touchdown to post Boynton Beach to a 20-7 lead, which would be the eventual final score of the game.

Although the Lions offense dominated the fourth quarter with Micioni-led sustained drives, the end zone remained elusive as the final Lions drive of the game ended with a turnover on downs at the Tigers goal line.

The Lions (0-1) open their home schedule on Friday, Sept. 1, against the cross-town Spanish River Sharks (0-1) at Corey Lewis Stadium.