The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

Gaining yardage

Senior Amogh Patankar takes the shotgun snap from senior Suchith Ullagaddi, as the rest of the team lines up in wait of the snap. Photo by Sannidhi Menon
Senior Amogh Patankar takes the shotgun snap from senior Suchith Ullagaddi, as the rest of the team lines up in wait of the snap. Photo by Sannidhi Menon

From a distance, a yellow flag peeks out from the referee’s fist. In a split second, his grip loosens. A player has crashed into the grass. He tosses the flag, calling a penalty on the defense. The team tries to argue its case, but he shakes his head no as he scoops the flag from the ground. The players return back to their positions and play resumes.

Take a few steps closer and the flag is nothing more than a yellow kitchen towel, and the referee is senior Rohil Srivastava. The players before him are all MVHS seniors, with no uniform or audience. The only thing that resembles official organized sport seems to be the players’ energy. These pick-up games have been happening a few times a month for the last four years.

In their most recent game on November 4, 26 players and two designated referees met up for over three hours of play. With rapid handoffs and occasional interceptions, the group of senior boys marked the highlight of their friendship through a single game of football that began with a group chat.

BEGINNINGS

The title of their chat bears its essential purpose: “football chat.” Here, they organize their weekly games, as well as spark up casual debates related to sports — arguments like the merits of Alex Smith vs. Colin Kaepernick. The number of members fluctuates, though it hasn’t dropped below double digits for a while now. They include anyone who takes an interest, and at times, courteously kick out inactive “ghosts.” Senior Kishan Aryasomayajula recalls his first entry.

“I want[ed] to join because high-key [I] could play with some people who are worse than me,” Aryasomayajula said, jokingly. “[But mostly] just to have fun.”

Such caustic humour runs through the group’s core. They call it “trash-talking,” exchanging lighthearted jabs about each other’s athleticism. A short remark like “I’m a better player than you” often builds up to twenty-something people urging on the argument. To determine the winner, they battle it out in real life, through a face-to-face game on the field. Whether it’s football or basketball, the two enter the spotlight as captains, choosing their respective teams.

According to senior Vedant Sathye, at its inception the group didn’t hold the same intensity as it does today. The notion of a fixed “group” rose to the surface in middle school, with just six boys compared to today’s 50 plus members. Back then, they held casual, unannounced meetups usually at Hoover Park every weekend.

Senior Vedant Sathye, one of the few original members of the group, attributes the group’s growth to the decline of casual games in the park.

“As a kid there used to be a ton of people who showed up. We used to do the same thing, just like pick up games,” Sathye said. “After high school [started], people just stopped playing pickup games in the park.”

As a result, many looked toward the group for the security of a consistent schedule. They embody the physical aspect of football — sweating profusely, bumping into each other on the field — without the added pressure of high commitment competition or the lack of exercise of a virtual game (although a good portion of the group also enjoys Fantasy Football on the side).

But recently, the group hasn’t been able to plan games as regularly. Though they were able to keep the semi-regular meetings in the last four years, according to Aryasomayajula, senior year struck them with piles of AP classwork and college applications. While the group chat remained relatively active, the actual meetings cut down to once or twice a month, with only a few players each time.

THE GAME

Senior Sarin Gole makes an acrobatic catch while senior Vedant Sathye defends. Photo by Shayon Moradi
Senior Sarin Gole makes an acrobatic catch while senior Vedant Sathye defends. Photo by Shayon Moradi

In early November, the game was revived. It began with yet another series of playful insults between seniors Pranav Mallavali and Amogh Patankar over who is a better quarterback. They naturally embraced the role as captains, drafted teams of 15 players through an online coin flipper, and set Saturday, November 4 as the day for it all to be decided. The two sides proceeded to “hype up” the game with boasts and an endless string of trash talking.

“One team thought they could completely destroy the other team,” Parikh said. “They underestimated the other team and the other team knew they had to prove [them] wrong.”

Never before have these players had a week-long preparation, nor such high participation of 26 people to play a game. To up the stakes, they even placed a friendly wager on who would win the game. The two sides unsurprisingly bet on their respective teams. The eventual pot of money came to a hefty sum of nearly a 100 dollars.

All the money was kept by an independent game commissioner, senior Sarin Gole. The game even had its own designate referee, senior Rohil Srivastava, who brought with him the yellow towel to serve as a penalty flag.
When game day arrived, everyone was excited to see who would finally take home the victory, prize money and bragging rights. They all met at the MVHS upper field at 3 p.m. to begin the game. Team Amogh opened up the game with a 21-7 lead, until Team Pranav rallied back to end to game with a 42-42 tie.

Parikh, the wide receiver on Team Pranav, still vividly recalls his last touchdown.

“Holy, this was definitely one of my best catches I have ever done,” Parikh said. “I’m playing receiver as always. I’m going in, I fade to the outside, I do not see the ball, the ball is thrown, I’m still running, I turn around, it’s to my off shoulder, I’m running straight … and I have to extend my arm out. I catch it in one hand, it tilts, I catch it again and I run past the defender and get the touchdown.”

Yet after his game-tying touchdown, the sun came down and forced the game to an end. Though the players — especially those who betted — had wanted closure to their biggest game yet, darkness drew the curtain, leaving all 26 players no choice but to head back home.

“This game was not forgettable — not for me at least,” Parikh said.

As for the bets, talk of the next game is stirring among the players. But with finals approaching, they decided to return the stakes to respective betters, seeing another game as unlikely in the near future.

TWILIGHT YEARS

Even though the group members have gotten older, they still make time for the activity that brought them together. They haven’t let the workload of high school and increased responsibility stop them from doing an activity they have enjoyed doing since they were little kids.

“[We] realized it was still fun — as fun as it was when we were kids — so we decided be more organized because we’re in high school now,” Sathye said. “But we still have plenty of hours in the day to go play football with our friends, so might as well.”

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