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If there’s a changing of the guard under way in the U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League, Yokosuka coach Isaac Lee isn’t buying it, even after a landmark season-opening loss.

Jake Dowdell threw two first-quarter touchdown passes and the Yokota Raiders hung on to edge Yokosuka 14-10, securing their first win over the Seahawks since a 64-0 rout five seasons ago.

“We won’t concede defeat,” said Lee, whose Seahawks lost a season opener for the first time since 1996. “We don’t want to be counted out just yet.”

Meanwhile, James Coleman ran for 150 yards on 18 carries and scored on runs of 2 and 15 yards as the Misawa Marauders overwhelmed the Atsugi White Dolphins 52-0 in Saturday’s other opener.

Yokota 14, Yokosuka 10

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Dowdell, the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, hooked up with Xavier Reyes on a 47-yard scoring pass then tossed a 40-yard TD strike to Bruce Turner.

With both sides passing on nearly every play, the four-time defending champion Seahawks cut their deficit to 14-6 at halftime on Justin Victor’s 57-yard scoring pass to Robert Trisby. Then Yokosuka’s defense registered two safeties, one by Aaron Clay and the other by D.C. Preston.

With under four minutes remaining, the Seahawks took possession at Yokota’s 40-yard line. But Victor scrambled for 9 yards on fourth and 10 with 2:32 left. The Raiders ran out the clock.

“The heart of a champion — when you get knocked down, you’ve got to get back up,” said Lee, whose team hosts Atsugi on July 10.

Misawa 52, Atsugi 0

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — The Marauders dominated the line of scrimmage, paving the way for its season-opening blowout on a chilly, rainy afternoon.

“The offensive line did an outstanding job,” Coleman said. “It was their show. I was just along for the ride.”

“Everything went well,” Misawa coach John Hemphill said. “We were pretty much able to do what we wanted.”

Atsugi coach Ray Shabazz admitted his team couldn’t overcome Misawa’s menacing line or the rough conditions.

“They were physical on the line. You can see they’ve been hitting the weights,” said Shabazz, adding that the day-long rain and coolish weather, with the temperature in the 60s, “kind of threw our game off.”

Quarterback Andre Rice threw touchdown passes of 45 yards to Mike Jackson and 27 yards to three-time All-League receiver Terry Lang. Rice added a 1-yard TD run.

James Garcia contributed a 22-yard scoring run, John Pappas scored from 11 yards and Rodney McCullough ran 6 yards for another TD. Brandon Williams had a safety and Josh Rose made 11 tackles and intercepted a pass.

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