The Lindbergh High School football team finished the 2006 season on a positive note with a 35-20 win over Ritenour.

Friday night’s victory came after the Flyers lost six of their last seven games, including four consecutive defeats.

“You don’t like going out with a loss,” Lindbergh head coach Tom Beauchamp told the Call. “This was a big game for us to win and finish out on a positive note.”

Lindbergh (4-6, 3-4 Suburban West) fell behind 7-0 when Ritenour’s Keith Hudson connected with Frisco Baugh on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

But the Flyers battled back when quarterback Robby Meeh hit tight end Tyler Kiel on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 5:25 left in the quarter. The touchdown for Kiel was the senior’s first of the season.

“We really haven’t thrown to him a whole lot this year,” the Lindbergh coach said. “Tyler had a couple of injuries this year, but he broke the school record for tackles last week with 15 tackles.”

Ritenour regained the lead in the second quarter when Baugh hit Hudson for a 63-yard touchdown pass with 10:57 left in the first half. But the Flyers refused to quit, and Meeh connected with Matt Farrell on a 40-yard touchdown pass with 3:45 left in the first half.

The touchdown for Farrell was the senior’s first of the campaign.

“Matt’s been a real solid athlete for us,” Beauchamp said. “He’s got a lot of ability, and we think he’s going to be pretty good next year.”

Lindbergh took a 21-14 lead with 43 seconds left in the first half when Meeh hit wide receiver Ryan Griffin for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Griffin finished the game with three receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown. He ended the season with a team-leading 460 yards receiving and four touchdowns.

“Ryan ran a flawless route, and Robby hit him in the end zone,” Beauchamp said. “It was one heck of a play.”

The Flyers extended their lead to 28-14 in the third quarter when running back Tori King hammered in a 12-yard touchdown run with 7:10 left in the quarter. King carried the ball 19 times for a season-high 131 yards and one touchdown. The senior tailback led the Flyers with 544 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

“All year long, Tori’s been solid for us,” Beauchamp said. “He runs hard and low to the ground. Our offensive line also gave us some holes and he took advantage of it.”

Lindbergh essentially put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter when Meeh scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 4:41 left in the game.

The senior quarterback finished the night with eight completed passes on 11 attempts for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

“We finally had most of our linemen back and Robby had the chance to throw the ball,” Beauchamp said. “We were finally able to be competitive again.”

Beauchamp believes that the Flyers will bounce back for the 2007 campaign.

“We’ve got a big senior class, so that’s always going to be tough to replace,” Beauchamp said. “It all depends on what we do in the off-season. We’ve got to bust our tails in the off-season.”