Wow, that was truly a comeback game that was needed after two years of loss. 

On October 30th, 2025, our Glendale High School varsity football team dominated Hoover High School, with a final score of 49-9. With the previous unfortunate record of 1-8, it was a reminder for our Nitros to come strong and make their final statement. Watching the game felt like I was at the Super Bowl. 

Before this year’s Homecoming Game, our Nitros had lost to the Tornados two years in a row. But our players didn’t let them think for a second that it was going to be their bell again. Regardless of them not playing their best season, our team had a moment of redemption against those Easy Breezy Tornados, coming away with a powerful win. 

Some of our players who stepped up and helped the team succeed were senior quarterback Elijah Venegas, sophomore running back Arman Papazyan, junior wide receiver Arlen Aivazian, and sophomore cornerback and free safety Margo Stoychev. Elijah, playing in his second season, came out with twenty-six rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Not to be outdone, his teammate Arman finished with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. And both Arlen and Margo had touchdown receptions of their own. 

Coach Manuel Lemus couldn’t be prouder of his star players, but he also had kind words for his entire team. All he wanted them to do was “play and have fun,” and without a doubt, they did just that and brought the bell back home to GHS, where it belongs. 

For the entire four quarters of the game, I was on the sideline watching and capturing every moment of my last Homecoming Game. It was a bittersweet experience because it made me realize that this was the final game for me, which made me emotional, but the win made my day. 

Each of the players performed extremely well, making everyone proud of their hard work. Just before the first quarter started, I was hoping they would come up on top, but I didn’t want to jinx anything. Little did I know that they were about to have one of their best games in school history. 

At the beginning of the quarter, Hoover was ahead by three points, but our Nitros were able to pick up their momentum and were ahead by double digits by the second quarter. By the third quarter, they were absolutely dominating Hoover, and by the final quarter, the Nitros were so far ahead that they simply ran the clock for the rest of the game. 

After their victory, Elijah and senior Rudy Cuellar had time to reflect on the game. “The Homecoming Game went amazingly [well],” Rudy said. “Especially with beating them during my freshman year, and leading it into my senior year, it was nerve-wracking.” 

“I knew that I didn’t have that much pressure, but going into my final game, myself and the team knew we had to focus and rise to the top,” Rudy admitted. “We had to win; we had no choice. We felt we were the dominant team the whole time. We didn’t let Hoover take the ball from us, except in the fourth quarter when they did make one touchdown.”

Elijah added, “It was fun beating Hoover. Last year we lost, and it was my first year. It was hard losing against them, because it’s the game everyone is hyped and excited about, and it definitely felt hard for me. But bringing back the bell home, everything changed, especially since we did it as a team.” 

The game was especially meaningful after the Hoover Instagram account made disparaging comments about GHS on the day before the matchup. “Winning the Homecoming Game felt incredible, especially because Hoover was talking trash about us,” Elijah said. “It helped us bring our confidence to another level. After they made that little post, we were never worried that maybe it would backfire on us; it made us work even harder than ever before.” 

Elijah did not appreciate the fact that the Hoover Football account called the Nitro football team “little brother”. “Having to see at our school campus, about Nitros being seen as the younger brother, was quite offensive, but also immature, too, especially since Hoover’s head coach posted that,” Elijah said. “By him creating this, it definitely put a chip on our shoulders and made us want to win even more.”

Rudy added, “We personally have never reacted like that before, ever. Posting a story to personally insult another team is just not what we are. We let our game show on the field and not on social media.” 

All their preparation for the Hoover game clearly paid off. “The last two weeks before the game, we kept practicing just to prepare for the game,” Elijah claimed. “We all focused and gave it our all to show we want this.” 

Rudy also added. “Before the game, we had a couple of people out, including from offense and defense, and me, since my shoulder was separated. So I still didn’t know if I was capable [of playing] or not.” 

“Still, even though we had some of our players injured, we still went in hoping we would achieve, with or without them, regardless of the situation,” Rudy said. “Knowing it was the end of the season, we were all pumped and ready to play on the field. Definitely, the big fact was that we wanted this victory in the bag.”

All of us watching the Homecoming Game, we will never forget the power that our football team brought on that field. Let’s keep this triumph going on forever now! Go, Nitros, Go!