On Friday, August 19th, the Glendale High School varsity football team played against the Eagles of Gabrielino High School on our home field at Moyse Stadium. Our fantastic marching band, color guard, drill, and cheer teams greeted us at the opening of our first game of the season.
This year there is a theme for each home game, and this game’s theme was “Red Alert”. Many Nitro fans came in and watched the game wearing red.
We were so close at the end of the 4th quarter, but ultimately our team lost to the Eagles with a final score of 14 to 6. Regardless, so many people in the stands were still excited and enjoyed watching the game.
During the game, our marching band played different pep songs, such as “Glendale Boys”. Our drum major, Hajime Araki, expressed that this “game was certainly one to remember.”
“Regardless of whether we won the football game or not, I’m sure we all had a good time,” he said. Hajime felt that “being in the position of drum major and wearing the white uniform in front of a crowd of people was certainly a surreal experience. I felt a mix of nervousness and excitement standing up on the podium.”
The players and coaches had hoped to win their opening game. However, with that close loss, our head coach, Jacob Ochoa, is hoping that their team will be able to rebound with a victory in their next matchup. He commented on how hard his players have worked during their conditioning this pre-season. Coach Ochoa also hopes to get back on their winning streak for their next game versus Alhambra High School.
Nitro kicker Paolo Sosa hopes that, by the end of their season, he will hit a 60-yard field goal in a game. He also hopes that he breaks the school record for the most field goals. Additionally, he is hoping that, by grinding hard this season, he will earn a scholarship from a Division 1 school.
The first home game of the season was such a close call. Gabrielino led at halftime, 6-0. In the 3rd quarter, our team finally scored, but fell behind again later in the game.
There were a lot of instances where our boys almost scored, but the team did amazing for their first game of the season. There will be many football games still coming this season, and we believe that the boys can get back on track with their next game. Go Nitros!
