By Sophie Haber ’19
Both the varsity and middle school football teams competed in their league championships and worked hard to obtain a strong record.  Throughout their seasons, the two teams managed to incorporate different grades and experience levels into their large groups, and feel that their dedication and rigorous practice schedules have resulted in success.
In its league season, the varsity football team had a strong record with only one loss. They ended their league season with a record of 4-1 and an overall record of 8-4.  On Oct. 30, they played Cathedral, losing with a close score of 13-12 and ending their perfect record.  Despite this loss, they were named the league champions after winning their game against Salesian on Nov. 6.
“At the very beginning of the year, a lot of our players thought that we weren’t going to do very well this season because we lost two very strong players.  Our goal has always been to do as well as possible, and I think we accomplished that because despite all odds we ended up winning the league title,” runningback and linebacker Kevin Chen ’19 said.
The team competed in the CIF playoffs, but lost to La Serna in the quarterfinals on Friday.  It was the first home playoff football game that the school hosted in six years, and the team finished the game with a score of 68-42.  Players say that next year they hope to go further in the CIF playoffs.
The middle school football team ended its season with an overall record of 5-3 and a league record of 4-2.  Oaks Christian proved to be some of the biggest competition for them, as they were defeated by them twice this season.  In the semi-finals, they competed against Oaks Christian again, and although the players expected to lose again, they won with a score of 38-30.
Members of the team competed in the Delphic League championships on Nov. 7, but lost to Village Christian with a score of 22-8.  In the beginning of the game, the middle school team had an 8-0 lead; however, they eventually lost their advantage.
“We kind of got too cocky and let them back in the game. We thought once we were up we were definitely going to win, but that deceived us.  At the beginning we thought that we couldn’t lose and then at the end we thought that we couldn’t come back and there were mistakes made as a whole team,” receiver Jaggar Lambert ’21 said.
For next year, the players plan to continue to work hard and improve throughout their offseason, so that they can win the championships next season.
“If we build off of what we did this year I think we could go on to win it next year.  With hard work and dedication, I think we can go back to the championships and win.  Just because football season is over, we can’t slack off and we have to work on what we did this season,” wide receiver Bennett Markinson ’19 said.