The Bison football team’s opening game started at 2 p.m. on Aug. 27 at Gilmour, and the temperature was a sizzling 88 degrees.

Beachwood started the season against the Lancers last year as well and came away with their only win of the season, but this year it was not to be.

Before the game, Beachwood head football coach Damion Creel was careful not to be overconfident.

“Last year was last year,” he wrote in an email. “They have a new team and so do we. The team that limits turnovers, plays good defense and is great on special teams will be victorious.”

The Lancers got off to an early lead, scoring a touchdown on their first possession. The Bison had kicked off and taken down the Lancer returner at the 30. Next, Beachwood tried to set the tone with a great sack, but it was not enough to prevent Gilmour’s momentum.

On their first offensive play, Beachwood was able to catch Gilmour offsides.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was Gilmour 7, Beachwood 0. With nine and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter, kicker Griffin Davis nailed a field goal, putting the Bison on the board with 3 points.

LeKendrick Robinson delivered a big punt return with five minutes remaining in the first half, bringing the Bison to Gilmour’s 20-yard line. Beachwood capitalized with a touchdown and made the extra point, taking a 10-7 lead with four minutes remaining in the half.

Beachwood then proceeded to force Gilmour to punt and marched the ball downfield, scoring a field goal with one second left in the half. The score going into halftime was 13-7 Beachwood.

The second half kicked off at 3:30 with Beachwood starting on offense. Halfway through the third quarter, Gilmour missed a 45-yard field goal short. With their first possession after the missed field goal, Mark Ferrell caught a deep pass and went down holding his thigh. There was a collective gasp from the stands, but Ferrell got up up and walked off quickly with assistance.

With a minute left in the third, Beachwood intercepted the ball, but LeKendrick Robinson was hurt on the play and hopped on one leg to the sideline before collapsing back to the ground.

Heading into the fourth, the Bison still led 13-7. With five minutes left in the game, Beachwood fumbled the ball on their own 30-yard line. Gilmour recovered and took possession of the ball.

With two minutes and 45 seconds remaining, the Lancers ran in a quarterback sneak for a touchdown and tied it at 13. The extra point snuck in the left side of the goal post, and the Lancers took the lead 14-13.

The Beachwood student section was energized and on their feet in anticipation of the final two-minute drive for Beachwood. That excitement melted away, however, when the Lancers forced the Bison to turn the ball over when not succeeding on fourth down. Gilmour then took a knee; the game was over at 4:30 p.m.

Gilmour won 14-13, dropping Beachwood to 0-1 to begin the season.

“We went out there and gave it our all and, unfortunately, we came up a little bit short,” Beachwood linebacker Josh Bialosky said.

Varsity quarterback Ben Connor feels that the team’s hard work in the off-season should pay off as the season progresses.

“I definitely feel that the off-season work we put in will make the team more developed physically,” he said. “Yet most of the game is played mentally, so once we develop and maintain the mental aspect of our game, then I think we’ll be better than last year.”

The Bison head to Chippewa to face the Chipps on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7 PM, hoping to get their first win and avenge their loss from last year.