In the midst of a pandemic, the 2020-21 Glendale High School football team faced many challenges and played a minimized three-game season. Starting in June of 2020, this tenacious team faced obstacles that delayed progress and time. Luckily, I had a first-hand experience to tell the story.

In the beginning of 2020, Glendale’s football team was getting ready for their next season in the fall. Then, came the news of COVID-19 hitting the states. This delayed everything in the process, from coaches being allowed on campus to workouts being cancelled due to health violations. These challenges were soon to become our team’s proof of wanting a season.

Leading up until October, team workouts were done exclusively through Zoom. It was very tough for my teammates and me, especially with the heat and some technical issues we had with the internet.

These Zoom workouts were carried out until the clearance from the District and parental permissions. We were eventually able to do workouts at school, in groups of eight. We would practice and lift weights for two hours a day, which was a challenge, as our school’s administration was very strict.

Practices were going very smoothly with zero COVID-19 cases for about two months. However, we ended up with two cases among the members of our program, which cost us two weeks of preparation.

Fast forward to one month later, we received word that our season was underway, starting with a scrimmage game against Arcadia. That day, I had six touchdowns, but it didn’t really matter, as it was a joint practice that didn’t count towards our regular season record. 

Then came our first regular season game against La Cañada. Tensions were high, emotions were everywhere, but our players were ready. Personally, before every game I get anxious and scared with a racing heart, but all I usually need is one play to lock in. All my actions are in service of helping my family and bringing joy to others. I did just that by getting our team’s first touchdown of the season, with a jet sweep play. Although we ended up losing the game, it was a great trial run to see our capabilities with such little practice time. 

The next week, four days of practice went by quickly, and our matchup against Gabrielino finally arrived. This was our seniors’ last home game of their high school careers, so I had to show out for them. Everything I did that day was for them. 

Out of the gates, we lost our first possession with a fumble during our kickoff return. I was quite disappointed, because fumbling is kind of a rare occurrence that doesn’t happen every game. Regardless of this error, our whole team soon bounced back. I scored three touchdowns that day in a comeback victory. I hopefully made the team proud, since I literally shed some blood and tears (at the end) to give us the win.

Lastly, our game against San Marino was supposed to be a historical game, as it could’ve been Glendale’s first two wins against CIF opponents since 2013. I surely believed that this would be an easy game, but I soon found out that I was wrong. We had a tough couple drives to start out the game, with me completing only one reception for 20 yards. 

Nothing positive came after that UNTIL a San Marino player was called for a dirty play against Jalen Marcelino. He was knocked out for a couple minutes, which caused the whole team to band together. My touchdown came at the 1:27 mark of the third quarter, which was one of our only two scores for the whole game.

But I felt it was deeper than football at that point. I wanted to give our seniors one more chance at hope. Unfortunately, I was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter, and a sub was installed in my place.

My junior year was full of goals that I wanted to achieve. I wanted to help out my family and to give the seniors one more good year, so I feel that everything played out how I wanted. This year was a success for me as well. I had five touchdowns in three games, with over 500 all-purpose yards.

This was all only possible because of our seniors’ actions, sacrifices, and teachings throughout these past three years. All in all, this year was great, but next year I promise to all of Glendale High School that I will put on an unforgettable season that will light the way for others after I’m gone. 

P.S. I wanted to give a special thanks to Juan, Jalen, Isaac, Kenneth, Ryan, Ramos, and Anthony for guiding me through my high school career.