“Dear scoundrel, once Matt McMillan finds you, he will rip you into eight different pieces.” Hayden Mckinney reflects on his anger after the football team was scammed out of a bus on their way to Orange County. The team paid nearly 4,000 dollars into a scam. The bus was supposed to take the football team down to Orange County to play in the Brothers in Arms Classic, but as hours went by, it was apparent that something was up.
Once the team was able to scrape together a last minute bus, the anger temporarily subsided and the team was able to enjoy a trip that none of them had ever experienced before. The team traveled for ten hours before reaching their final destination. The next day, they woke up early and prepared to take on Utah’s Layton Christian Academy. Both teams traveling far from home for a game that everyone playing wouldn’t forget.
The game was set at University High School, an immense high school stadium, different from anything the Cougars have previously played at. The Cougars trudged through the first half of the game, keeping up with Layton Christian. After the half though, the Cougars seemed to lose spirit and began to give up on themselves. They ended up losing the game, 27-14. Even though it was a tough loss, Gabe Michaud thought “we should have beat them, there were countless small mistakes that lead to the Cougars demise.” Even though the Cougars had a somewhat disappointing game, they still managed to make the most out of the trip, and enjoyed the rest of their day, and night, at Disneyland.
With a new week approaching, the Cougars got ready to play Fremont of Oakland, a team whose entire offensive line was well over 200 pounds, with some players in the 300 pound range. Dakota Estes, a sophomore lineman described the team as “frightening, especially when their line weighed almost 100 pounds more than me.” Dakota Estes is both a sophomore on the team and considered “small” for his position. Weighing in at 6’0” and 200 pounds, Dakota is far from a small person, showing how truly massive the Fremont team was. Even though the Cougars lost the game against Fremont, they still did better than any other team that Fremont had faced this year, with Fremont winning 18-11. Most other games against Fremont ended with upwards of a 50 point difference.
Despite a few disappointing losses, the Cougars still managed to come out strong against Pacific Grove for San Lorenzo Valley’s 2017 homecoming. The cougars gave Pacific Grove something to think about as they destroyed the Breakers 29-3. The Cougars got a much needed win in front of their home crowd. When asked who did the best during the homecoming match up, Michaud answered “I felt that Mark Carling Really lead the team, having multiple good runs and making the majority of tackles.” Carling has been on the Varsity team for three years now and has established himself as the team’s leading fullback and middle linebacker.
Despite a so far mediocre season, Sophomore offensive lineman Hayden Mckinney says their coach makes everything worthwhile. Hayden said, “I would follow coach anywhere.” Coach Poetzinger has installed a level of trust in his players that is unbreakable. Mckinney even went as far as describing Coach Poetzinger as a “father figure for the team.” With many years of experience coaching football, Hayden and the rest of the team hope that they will be lead to a winning season this year.
By Isaac Wallace Menge
The Claw 