Danielle Ledgerwood
After coming off of a four game winning streak, the boys football team suffered a tough loss to the Ramona Bulldogs on Oct. 10th. The Sundevils scored a solid 13 points, while Ramona overtook them with an overwhelming 49.
“Once they started scoring a lot, we kind of gave up on ourselves,” senior Jaylen Jones said. “We started to quit because we didn’t think we could come back.”
However, there may have been outside obstacles that interfered with the focus of the squad.
“We had a few distractions off the field,” junior Daniel Gonzalez said. “We didn’t have a correct mindset. They were ready to play, and we didn’t really play hard. They took advantage of that and beat us. Badly.”
After losing the first game in five weeks, the varsity squad turned it around on the practice field in order to prepare to face the Titans on Oct. 17 at home.
“We worked harder in practice, and worked harder in the weight room,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like we were a little more motivated to beat Poway, because they’re closer, and there’s a bigger rivalry.”
The effort in practice seemed to pay off in the game, as the Sundevils defeated the Titans 24-14, a margin of 10 points.
“We played really good in the first half,” Jones said. “We started to get a little cocky in the third quarter, but we came back and finished strong.”
They held a 21-0 lead at halftime, a rare occurrence, considering they seemed to be a second half team in the previous weeks. However, they started to slip up in the beginning of the second half, and by the end of the third quarter, it was 21-14, and Poway trailed by a mere touchdown. Even though it seemed too close for comfort, the defense held them in the fourth quarter, and a field goal toward the end of the game gave the Sundevils a 24-14 victory.
“We changed around some of our defensive schemes after they started scoring,” Gonzalez said. “We stepped up our game, because we kinda let our foot off the gas a little bit, but we stuck it back to them and it worked. Both teams fought it out, and we came out on top.”
The intense practice will continue this week, as the Sundevils physically and mentally prepare to face Rancho Bernardo in our home stadium this week.
“I think it’s gonna be a tough game,” Gonzalez said. “They have good coaches and good players, but so do we. Both teams have to play hard all game, and it’s going to come down to who works harder in the fourth quarter.”
In addition to RB’s tough offense, the upperclassmen are also going to have to get through the emotional obstacle lingering off the field.
“It’s gonna be a big game for the seniors especially,” Gonzalez said, “because it could possibly be their last game in Sundevil stadium.”
