With the Homecoming season coming to a close, it is important to highlight some of the greatest hits of the season. The Varsity Football game on Oct. 1 is a great example of this, getting people excited and showing off the hard work of the team. The Arcadia Apaches worked hard throughout the home game, trying their best to succeed against the Burroughs Bears; the final score came out to be 19-28 in favor of Burroughs.
During the first few minutes of the game, Arcadia built up their hype, eventually pushing so far as to score the first touchdown of the game, making the match 7-0 in Arcadia’s favor. In retaliation, the Bears broke the defensive line after a couple of solid tries, tying up the score 7-7. With both teams building up the hype, Burroughs struck back, scoring an additional touchdown right towards the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was more of a loss for the Apaches, with the opposition continually playing smart to score two more touchdown passes, making the score 7-21. Undeterred on evening the score, Arcadia’s offense tried their best, but ultimately ran out of steam towards the middle of the field. As halftime neared, both teams discussed their strategy for the second half. Trying for more passing plays, the Apaches got ready to try to cause the Bears’ organization to falter so they could score even more.

After a riveting halftime show featuring the Arcadia Marching Band and this year’s Homecoming Royalty, the game was back on. Being a second half team, Arcadia was ready to come back with as much vigor as they could, holding back Burroughs from scoring anymore points. With two more field goals under their belt, the end of the game neared as the point tally was 13-21.

Knowing that they needed to play better if they wanted to win, the Apaches continued pushing, allowing for the offense to break through Bear lines and kick a total of two successful field goals, letting the total become 19-21. Unfortunately, while all of this was happening, the defense let up yet another touchdown as Burroughs received close to Arcadia’s endzone, solidifying the final score at 19-28 with the Burroughs Bears taking home the win. This close loss now cemented Arcadia’s record as three wins and two losses until their away game at Muir High School.

Reflecting on the game, junior Elijah Zertuche, who is a center for the team, explained how he felt. “I think we fought and played to the best we could, considering the adversity we faced with injuries,” he said. “We go into every game with the mindset of leaving everything on the field, and showing out and we always try our hardest to accomplish that.”

His perspective focused on making sure everyone tries their best to make the strongest team possible, knowing that the more people work together the better the unit will become.

Similarly, freshman Josiah Williams, quarterback for the Apaches, commented: “I felt like we got off to a really good start with the defense stopping and scoring on the first drive.”
Josiah asserts that it was during the second quarter when problems arose, meaning the second half had to be even better.

“We were a second half team and fought back really hard to win but just barely came up short. I felt like it was a good game, but we beat ourselves as they weren’t really the better team, and we weren’t clicking whether that was on a major or minor scale during the game.”

This game is just one of many the Apaches will play through the season, and it has served as an opportunity for them to grow as players and as teammates.

Photo by AUSD Digital Communications Intern SOFIA NAGY