rhiannonyee Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:35 pmVarsity Football
By Rhiannon Yee
After a summer jam-packed with hard work, the boys of our Varsity football team are back and ready for action!
Starting the Monday after school let out, our Apaches were already back in the field preparing for the upcoming season. They practiced for 3 hours Monday-Thursday for six weeks and then had a three-week break in which they had the option to go to the weight room to work on those big football muscles. Finally, the infamous “Hell Week” came along. Well, its actually two weeks of “hell”, from 7:50-11:50 a.m. and then from 5:50-8:00 at night. No wonder they’re so big and strong!
Unfortunately, all that practice didn’t pay off. The Apaches’ first game of the season was held at Fullerton High School because of the bad air conditions due to the recent fires against Monrovia High. They sustained a tough defeat, losing to the Wildcats 27-13. “We have ten tests during the regular season and although we failed our first test, some positive things came out of it and we’re excited for the next nine tests,” says head coach Jon Dimalante.
This season, head coach Jon Dimalante hopes "to come as close to [the team's] potential as possible. Our goal is to win the league championship and make the playoffs...and be the last team standing at the end of playoffs." He hopes to do this with the combined efforts of the veterans of the team, such as seniors Garrett Tuck and Albert Tran, which he says, "played well in the first game and [the rest of the team] will build off their effort" along with the newer members on the team. One thing that makes the team a little different from the one last year is the high percentage of players that are sophomores. Coach Dimalante says that "seven sophomores that are playing is an amazing feat and I'm very excited about that." Hopefully these "super seven" can meet their coaches expectations. Sophomore Christopher Steuer, one of these superb sophomores, says, "It's a great experience and a huge responsibility on our part to do our job correctly, not only for ourself but for those seniors playing their last year of Apache football. No matter what grade you're in or how old you are, you're expected to give 110% every play because it could be your last." Well said!
For their second game of the season, the Apaches played St. Francis High on Friday, September 11, 2009. Salter Stadium was packed in anticipation for the first game of the season and the game started with a beautiful sunset in the background. Sophomore Taylor Lagace got a first down early in the game, but the St. Francis Knights beat our Apaches to the scoreboard and quickly turned the game in their favor, 7-0. The Knights followed their first touchdown with another and there were a few nice completed passes on our side but the Apaches were left trailing at the end of the first quarter. The Apaches did their best to hold St. Francis back but sadly, couldn't hold them long enough. The Knights scored again and got the extra point to make the score 21-0. Quarterback Garrett Tuck completed a few more passes, one to sophomore Taylor Lagace, but St. Francis just couldn't be stopped.
Spectators were treated to a great halftime show by the Arcadia High band and colorguard, and the cheerleaders yelled words of encouragement all night. The Apaches strode back on the field with renewed energy and vigor, led by head coach Jon Dimalante. The halftime break semed to do the players good as they started advancing down the field, getting closer and closer toward the opposite endzone. Despite their best efforts, the Apaches were thwarted again and St. Francis brought the ball back their way once again. The game ended with the Knights 40 and the Apaches 0. Senior Nasser Shalabi says, "That was a tough one,[and] they outplayed us...[but]they're a good team, maybe the best team we're going to play [in the regular season]."
After St. Francis the Apaches had a by, and then they played Temple City on Sep. 25. Check out the October issue for the scores! Although they may have gotten off to a rough start, senior Nasser Shalabi says, "It doesn't matter how many times you fall down, it's how many times you get back up that counts." So don’t worry boys, we’re all behind you, and no matter what, we’ll always be proud of our boys in cardinal and gold!
By Rhiannon Yee
After a summer jam-packed with hard work, the boys of our Varsity football team are back and ready for action!
Starting the Monday after school let out, our Apaches were already back in the field preparing for the upcoming season. They practiced for 3 hours Monday-Thursday for six weeks and then had a three-week break in which they had the option to go to the weight room to work on those big football muscles. Finally, the infamous “Hell Week” came along. Well, its actually two weeks of “hell”, from 7:50-11:50 a.m. and then from 5:50-8:00 at night. No wonder they’re so big and strong!
Unfortunately, all that practice didn’t pay off. The Apaches’ first game of the season was held at Fullerton High School because of the bad air conditions due to the recent fires against Monrovia High. They sustained a tough defeat, losing to the Wildcats 27-13. “We have ten tests during the regular season and although we failed our first test, some positive things came out of it and we’re excited for the next nine tests,” says head coach Jon Dimalante.
This season, head coach Jon Dimalante hopes "to come as close to [the team's] potential as possible. Our goal is to win the league championship and make the playoffs...and be the last team standing at the end of playoffs." He hopes to do this with the combined efforts of the veterans of the team, such as seniors Garrett Tuck and Albert Tran, which he says, "played well in the first game and [the rest of the team] will build off their effort" along with the newer members on the team. One thing that makes the team a little different from the one last year is the high percentage of players that are sophomores. Coach Dimalante says that "seven sophomores that are playing is an amazing feat and I'm very excited about that." Hopefully these "super seven" can meet their coaches expectations. Sophomore Christopher Steuer, one of these superb sophomores, says, "It's a great experience and a huge responsibility on our part to do our job correctly, not only for ourself but for those seniors playing their last year of Apache football. No matter what grade you're in or how old you are, you're expected to give 110% every play because it could be your last." Well said!
For their second game of the season, the Apaches played St. Francis High on Friday, September 11, 2009. Salter Stadium was packed in anticipation for the first game of the season and the game started with a beautiful sunset in the background. Sophomore Taylor Lagace got a first down early in the game, but the St. Francis Knights beat our Apaches to the scoreboard and quickly turned the game in their favor, 7-0. The Knights followed their first touchdown with another and there were a few nice completed passes on our side but the Apaches were left trailing at the end of the first quarter. The Apaches did their best to hold St. Francis back but sadly, couldn't hold them long enough. The Knights scored again and got the extra point to make the score 21-0. Quarterback Garrett Tuck completed a few more passes, one to sophomore Taylor Lagace, but St. Francis just couldn't be stopped.
Spectators were treated to a great halftime show by the Arcadia High band and colorguard, and the cheerleaders yelled words of encouragement all night. The Apaches strode back on the field with renewed energy and vigor, led by head coach Jon Dimalante. The halftime break semed to do the players good as they started advancing down the field, getting closer and closer toward the opposite endzone. Despite their best efforts, the Apaches were thwarted again and St. Francis brought the ball back their way once again. The game ended with the Knights 40 and the Apaches 0. Senior Nasser Shalabi says, "That was a tough one,[and] they outplayed us...[but]they're a good team, maybe the best team we're going to play [in the regular season]."
After St. Francis the Apaches had a by, and then they played Temple City on Sep. 25. Check out the October issue for the scores! Although they may have gotten off to a rough start, senior Nasser Shalabi says, "It doesn't matter how many times you fall down, it's how many times you get back up that counts." So don’t worry boys, we’re all behind you, and no matter what, we’ll always be proud of our boys in cardinal and gold!
Last edited by rhiannonyee on Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:44 am; edited 3 times in total