The cold and wet Saturday morning began with the East County Lions scout level battling the San Leandro Crusaders. The Lion offense was spearheaded by Jay Butterfield and Braxton Copeland. Copeland scored twice on long runs, while Butterfield passed and ran his way to a good day.

The Lion defense was as strong as ever, led by hard hitting from Cole Gregerson, Dalton Houston, Justin and Eric Bergen, Peyton Borrelli and Jacoby Padilla.

The junior pee wee team faced a stern test and came away with an 18-12 victory.

The junior midgets hung tough against a battle-tested Crusader squad. The offense struggled, but in the end, played well. The Lion defense went on the attack with strong play from defensive linemen Jack Smith, Preston Charles Merril, Lee Shepard and Kyle Coonan. The hitting was supplied by linebackers Chase Peralta, Jesse Gregerson, Dominique Espino and Kopono Carrerra.

The highlight, however, was the secondary, featuring Damion Gomez, and Dominique Dominguez and safety Christian Davilla. Dominguez made an interception and Davilla returned a pick 65 yards for a touchdown. The game was tied 6-6 and went into overtime, where the Crusaders prevailed.

The East County Lions host the San Ramon T Birds on Saturday, Sept. 25.