Attitude is everything. Those are the words used when the NDCL football team breaks its huddles. Stuck in a tight 17-13 game at halftime on Oct. 3 against Holy Name, NDCL emerged from the locker room with a different attitude, paving the way for a 45-27 victory that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. NDCL scored 28 points before Holy Name achieved its initial first down of the second half. The Green Wave scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the game, but the damage had already been done. PHOTOS: NDCL vs. Holy Name football, Oct. 3, 2024 NDCL improves to 5-2 heading into next weekends game against undefeated Walsh Jesuit, while Holy Name falls to 2-4. "I literally just told them we've got to play NDCL football," said first-year coach Andre Griffin of his halftime speech. "Wipe out what we did in the first half. Wipe out what they did last year. Come back and get fired up." The second half stat sheet was pretty easy to decipher. A three-and-out by Holy Name's offense, followed by an NDCL touchdown. Rinse and repeat — four times. "We went (into the locker room) knowing we were the better team," said Brayden Buell, who helped stake his team to a 17-13 halftime lead with touchdown runs of 77 and 42 yards. "We've got to play harder. We knew we were leaving stuff on the field we shouldn't. We had to come out with a killer instinct." After the first three-and-out of the third quarter, NDCL plowed down the field in four plays, with Angelo Tamburrino bulling in from the 4 for the 24-13 lead. The next Holy Name three-and-out resulted in a botched snap that gave NDCL the ball on the Green Wave's 4. Ryan Lipowski hit Casey McInnerney on a four-yard out-pattern for the 31-13 lead. After the next three-and-out, Lipowski dialed long distance and found McInnerney again on a bomb that upped the ante to 38-13. After the fourth three-and-out, NDCL grinded the ball down the field methodically and capped things with Dylan Hoenigman's nine-yard run right down the gut of the Holy Name defense. "You've got to give credit where credit is due," Lipowski said. "The offensive line had a great night tonight. Same with the defensive line. In the trenches we were dominant. That's where we won the game tonight." With the 45-point outburst, NDCL has now scored 160 points in its past three games. Granted the points didn't come as easy this week as they did last week when the Lions scored touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions for a 42-point first quarter, but it's still electric. NDCL's defense forced four straight three-and-outs in the second half to pave the way for a 45-27 win over Holy Name on Oct. 3. (Tim Phillis - For The News-Herald) "All year our points have been quick," Griffin said. "It's crazy. I've never been part of something like that. "We can spread it around. Like basketball, if you do that, it's hard to defend. Our offensive coordinator is doing a heck of a job." Staked to a 45-13 lead, NDCL gave up a long touchdown pass, an onside kick and a short touchdown run late in the game before Tamburrino recovered a second onside kick and the Lions were able to kneel-out the final 31 seconds. "We've got to not take our foot off the pedal," Lipowski said. With the win, NDCL runs its win streak to three. The final three games of the regular season for the Lions feature bouts with 6-0 Walsh Jesuit, 4-2 Padua and 6-0 Lake Catholic. "We definitely know what's ahead," Griffin said. "We're now on to what I call the Big 3, starting with Walsh."