Sitting in the locker room, it’s hard not to get caught up in your head, but the player has to focus. Today is game day – Skyline will prove to be the biggest challenge thus far. He laces up his cleats as tight as they will go, straps up his shoulder pads, takes his gold helmet by the face mask , and runs out towards the field.
Such was no doubt the story of at least a few of the freshman players on the Gold team two weeks ago. Unfortunately, they would lose their game against Skyline 26-13. The Blue team, on the other hand, did not play because of a schedule miscommunication with Fort Worth Nolan high school.
Both the coaches and players of Gold expressed disappointment at the team’s performance. “Skyline was a rough game,” said Max Telfer ’19, “Lots of turnovers that weren’t needed.”Coach Bob Wunderlick commented on the defensive showing, saying, “Defense played well most of the time, but [Skyline] made us pay when we didn’t tackle well or cover deep passes.” The offense also came up short twice in the red zone he also said. In spite of this, offense scored two touchdowns: a Jaden Woodson run and a long pass from Matthew Priddy to Nick Hafertepe. Pierce Strong ’19 said, “We started off strong, but we didn’t finish or complete.
Coach Wunderlick is primarily focused on improving each week as the season progresses. “For many, that means fighting through injuries and bruises and finding a way to stay focused,” he said, “The goal is to end the season on a high note, and the coaches are confident this will happen.”
This past week was in stark contrast to the Skyline game. Both Blue and Gold added 1 more W to their records against Irving, winning 22-6 and 35-0, respectively. “After a close first quarter, the Blue Defense, led by Charlie Barraco, Sam Starr, Jack Dexter, and Hector Juarez, played great,” Coach Wunderlick said about the Blue team. Josh Lewis, Jacob Jowdy, Donovan Fitch, Peter Buell, and Lota Ifeacho led the offense, including “powerful running” from Buell and a long run for a score by Ifeacho. Kickers James Koshakji and Sam Koeijmans also played very well.
On the Gold side Andrew Gregory, Will Leitnick, and Eli Price led a shutout defensive showing. “It was a good performance by all,” Coach Wunderlick said. Offensively, Jaden Woodson, Nick Hafertepe, Cannon Brewer, Anthony Hollerich, and Nico Triantos were key play-makers. Important scores from Gold’s offense included Woodson connecting with John Schott Lacina and Priddy with Hafertepe. Coach was impressed by the improvement from the previous week. “Overall, it was a good performance by both teams,” he said.
Eli Price, who returned an interception for a touchdown in the Gold, said about the season so far, “[It] has had some ups and downs… The coaches have done a great job preparing us for each game and all we need to do is preform and score more in games and be more consistent.” With their wins against Irving last week, the Blue team remains undefeated, and the Gold team improves to 4-2.
