CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - -- The Headquarters and Support Battalion Spartans beat the School of Infantry Outlaws, 13-7 in a hard fought, low-scoring, back-and-forth game. That brought the Spartans to a 2-1 record for the season at the Paige Fieldhouse football field, Sept. 15.
Quarterback Brandon Bond capitalized on broken coverage when his receiver was left open in the end zone. The Spartans reclaimed the lead going into halftime, which would turn out to be the deciding score.
The Outlaws had a rough start with a six-yard return on the opening kickoff and on the second play of their opening drive they threw an interception. Cornerback Alphonso Roper turned on the jets and ran it back 90 yards, giving the Spartans an early 6-0 lead after the Outlaws blocked the extra point.
The Outlaws were unable to answer, and were forced to punt with a three-and-out following the score. The Outlaws made a defensive stand, forcing a fumble to give their offense another chance.
The Outlaws offense marched downfield from their own 13-yard line with a series of short gains on the ground, when quarterback David Hackman found his receiver open behind the coverage from the 40-yard line to complete the touchdown. The Outlaws took a 7-6 lead over the Spartans at the end of the first quarter.
After both teams forced several turnovers on downs, fumbles and interceptions, the next and final score came late in the second quarter. The Spartans defense gave the offense a short field from the 35-yard line after recovering a fumble.
Penalties and hard-fought defense led to a scoreless second half in a game that came down to the final drive when the Outlaws found themselves at first-and-goal with 1:30 to play in the game. A 10-yard holding penalty against the Outlaws on second-and-10 turned it into third-and-long. Following an incomplete pass on third down, the Outlaws had no choice but to go for it on fourth-and-long.
Not only did they fail to score, defensive lineman John Heer recovered a fumble and ran it back 80 yards doing a front-flip into the end zone. A penalty flag was thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct, canceling the touchdown and bringing up a first-and-10 from the 12-yard line. Despite the penalty, the Spartans walked away from this one victorious as they took a knee and let the clock run out.
“We had a lot of blown plays, but we came away with the win,” said Bond. “We need to keep practicing fundamentals so we lose less yards to penalties. Our defense was excellent, but we are going to need more than our defense when we play Miramar next week.”
The Spartans play the Falcons on Sept. 23.