Joe Han missed his first field goal try of 38 yards in the second quarter. He made sure he didn’t miss on his second attempt, one that helped Seoul American escape upset-minded Taegu American and capture its fifth straight Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Korea football title.

Han’s 43-yard field goal with 5:42 left provided the game’s only points of Saturday at Falcon Field, and left Seoul American coach Julian Harden breathing a heaving sigh of relief.

“They (Taegu) came to play,” Harden said. “They believe in their program. Their coaches do a great job with them.”

At Yokota High School in Japan, there was no lack of scoring.

Anthony McNeill and Tony Presnell each scored three times and the host Panthers rolled up 382 yards in a 51-21 romp over Kubasaki in the first regular-season game between Okinawa Activities Council and DODDS-Japan Football League teams.

“We didn’t know what to expect from them,” Yokota coach Tim Pujol said of a Kubasaki team that pierced the Panthers’ defense for 319 yards and three rushing TDs. “Our run defense needs some work, but we moved the ball well on the ground. I was pleased.

South KoreaSeoul American 3, Taegu American 0: At Yongsan Garrison, the Falcons (4-0) and Warriors (1-2) played the lowest-scoring game in the DODDS-Korea league’s five-season history on the Falcon Field carpet.

Defense ruled the day, as Seoul American recovered five fumbles and intercepted two passes, the last one by Daniel Burns that halted the Warriors’ final possession. The Falcons fumbled seven times, losing two on snap miscues between center and quarterback.

“A lot of turnovers again,” Harden said. “Their (Taegu) defense was all over the place. We couldn’t run. We couldn’t pass. We couldn’t do anything offensively.”

Kawika Feleciano led the Falcons with seven tackles, Joe McLean had six and Demetrius Johnson had three sacks. Burns went 11-for-16 for 88 yards to highlight the Falcons’ offense.

The Warriors also missed a field-goal try, and had a 60-yard punt-return touchdown by Angel Hickman called back on a penalty. Taegu had the ball inside the Falcons’ 10-yard line twice, only to fumble it away.

Taegu coach Ken Walter called the loss as “tough as I’ve ever had as a coach. It was a great game. I wish we could play them again next week. We make each other better.”

Harden rates the Warriors as a contender for the Far East Class A championship on Nov. 3.

“I like the way they play,” Harden said. “They don’t give up. They don’t quit and they believe they can win. Tenacious.”

JapanYokota 51, Kubasaki 21: At Yokota Air Base, McNeill, the defending JFL rushing champion, chewed up the Dragons for 148 yards on 27 carries, including touchdown runs of 1, 5 and 8 yards. He added 119 yards on three returns and caught two passes for 29 yards.

Presnell gained 98 yards on 11 tries, running for touchdowns of 40, 12 and 42 yards. DeEric Harvin was 5-for-7 for 61 yards, tossing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Riki Byrnes.

Kubasaki’s Marquette Warren replied with 111 yards on nine carries, including a 50-yard TD scamper. Colt Sadler scored from 3 yards out and Kaleb Robinson sneaked in from the 1. Michael Bennett garnered 164 all-purpose yards on 13 touches. But the Dragons were hurt by three turnovers.

While this was Yokota’s eighth game of the season, including two preseason matchups with Japanese teams, this was the first time Kubasaki took the field as a unit, after playing as split squads for four preseason doubleheaders.

“That was obviously a great opponent, they outplayed us in many phases,” Dragons coach Fred Bales said. “We came here to try to win a game. That didn’t happen, but we’ll continue to work and move ahead from this and we’ll be better for it down the road.”

Yokota (6-0) already has clinched a berth in the Far East Class AA semifinal at Guam High on Nov. 3. Kubasaki begins its best-of-three OAC playoff with Kadena next week, with the winner to host Seoul American on Nov. 3.

“When the playoffs come along, they’ll be a different team,” Pujol said of Kubasaki.

Scoreboard

(Click to jump ahead to cross country, tennis and volleyball)

Football

DODDS-Japan Football League

W L Pct. PF PA

Yokota 4 0 1.000 131 44

Edgren 3 2 .600 110 68

Kinnick 1 3 .250 64 88

Zama 1 3 .250 65 145

Friday’s games

Edgren 39, Zama 14

Kinnick 28, American School In Japan 7

Saturday’s game

Yokota 51, Kubasaki 21

Friday, Oct. 12

Yokota at Kinnick, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 13

ASIJ at Edgren, 1 p.m.

South Korea

W L Pct. PF PA

Seoul American 4 0 1.000 97 20

Taegu American 1 2 .333 25 22

Osan American 0 3 .000 8 88

Saturday’s game

Seoul American 3, Taegu American 0

Saturday, Oct. 13

Taegu American at Osan American, 2 p.m.

Okinawa

Preseason

Saturday, Oct. 6

Yokota 51, Kubasaki 21

Regular season

Friday, Oct. 12

Kadena at Kubasaki, 7 p.m.

Guam

W L Pct. PF PA

Father Duenas 5 1 .833 155 28

George Washington 4 2 .667 94 51

Simon Sanchez 4 2 .667 64 81

Guam High 3 3 .500 62 72

John F. Kennedy 2 4 .333 18 70

Southern 0 6 .000 32 123

Friday’s game

Guam High 7, John F. Kennedy 2

Saturday’s games

Father Duenas 52, Southern 14

George Washington 14, Simon Sanchez 6

Friday, Oct. 12

Father Duenas at John F. Kennedy, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 13

George Washington at Southern, 10 a.m.

Simon Sanchez vs. Guam High at Blue Jacket Field, Naval Station "Big Navy," 7 p.m.

Cross country

Saturday

At Misawa

Boys team scores

1, Zama, 48; 2, Yokota, 49 (higher finishers); 3, Kinnick, 49; 4, Edgren, 91; 5, E.J. King, 92

Boys individual results

1, Andrew Quallio, Zama, 18 minutes, 2 seconds

2, Trey Sauls, Yokota, 18:51

3, Kevin Blackburn, Zama, 19:10

4, William Traufler, Kinnick, 19:14

5, Jimmy Niescier, Yokota, 19:14

6, David Heitstuman, E.J. King, 20:00

7, Andrew Carr, Yokota, 20:05

8, Kenny Korcal, Nile C. Kinnick, 20:10

9, Thomas Coyne, Nile C. Kinnick, 20:11

10, Matthew Hoffman, Zama, 20:42

Girls team scores

1, Kinnick, 46; 2, Edgren, 57; 3, Yokota, 70; Zama, E.J. King, incomplete teams.

Girls individual results

1, Gee Mi Jorde, Kinnick, 22 minutes, 17 seconds

2, Nadine Mulvany, Kinnick, 22:37

3, Jamie Johnson, Kinnick, 22:53

4, Sam Bossert, E.J. King, 23:31

5, Mallarie Ashliman, Zama, 23:45

6, Courtney Richards, Yokota, 24:20

7, Angel Lemen, Edgren, 25:00

8, Ashley Mayberry, Edgren, 25:34

9, Katie Grimm, Edgren, 26:10

10, Audry Haltli, Edgren, 26:51

Tennis

Saturday

At Daejeon

Boys

Seoul Foreign 3, Taejon Christian 2

Singles

Dennis Kwon, TCIS, def. Chris Richardson 8-6

Daniel Han, Seoul, def. Jaedoo Lee 8-1

Terry Lee, TCIS, def. Alex Hong 8-2

Doubles

Remco Rademaker and Will Richards, Seoul, def. James Kang and Daniel Shin 8-3

Hsien Chang and Peter Lee, Seoul, def. Harry Cho and Kyungmin Kim 8-2

Girls

Seoul Foreign 3, Taejon Christian 2

Singles

Ernie Song, TCIS, def. Leah Chung 8-0

Estelle Kim, Seoul Foreign, def. Christina Cho 8-1

Ellie Fry, Seoul Foreign, def. Lucia Jeong 8-5

Doubles

Nathalie Versavel and Chelsea Kim, Seoul Foreign, def. Ciel Jeon and Sinny Choi 8-4

Jihyun Rhim and Jennifer Oh, TCIS, def. Jana Schinalohr and Namrata Batra 8-5

Friday

At Daejeon

Boys

Taejon Christian 3, Yongsan Int’l-Seoul 2

Singles

Ryan Park, YIS-Seoul, def. Dennis Kwon 8-6

Andrew Park, TCIS, def. Minho Seo 8-4

Terry Lee, TCIS, def. Charles Lee 8-1

Doubles

Daniel Woehler and Stefan Woehler, YIS-Seoul, def. James Kang and Daniel Shin 8-6

Harry Cho and Kyungmin Kim, TCIS, def. Andrew Song and Abraham Nelson 6-3

Girls

Taejon Christian 5, Yongsan Int’l-Seoul 0

Singles

Ernie Song def. Sharon Kim 8-2

Christina Cho def. Jena Kim 8-4

Lucia Jeong def. Jennifer Hwang 8-6

Doubles

Ciel Jeon and Sinny Choi def. Cecilia Kay and Melissa Kim 8-4

Jihyun Rhim and Jennifer Oh def. Christine Chun and Christine Kim 8-3

Volleyball

Boys

Friday

Gyeonggi Suweon International def. International Christian-Uijongbu 23-25, 25-9, 25-22, 25-10

At Suweon

Serving-ICS-Uijongbu, Jimmy Kim 15-for-16. Block points-ICS-Uijongbu, Isaac Brazil 3.

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