Varsity Football tied with Saratoga High School 27-27 at the Homecoming game Friday, Oct. 4. SHS started strong, scoring the first touchdown and maintaining a 20-13 lead by halftime. Despite the deficit, the Matadors maintained composure and blocked a critical field goal to keep the score tied at 27-27 by the end of the second half. The game extended into overtime but ended in a tie after a Saratoga player sustained a severe injury.
The team’s performance was a result of the intense preparation the team did beforehand despite high temperatures, according to senior and receiver Shashi Bhagwat.
“We were working all week,” Bhagwat said. “Every single day we were meeting up, going over game plans. It was hot as 100 degrees, but we were still finding ways to practice. On Wednesday, we worked out at 7 o’clock at night instead of at 4 p.m. No matter what comes at us, we still find ways to work and get better. We wouldn’t have performed if we didn’t work as hard as we did.”
Bhagwat explains that a large part of the training was knowing Saratoga’s strategies, which he says was the key to facing them. Senior and lineman Billy Levison notes that the team had to plan around specific challenges that could come up when playing SHS.
“We look at films of games, we study their past games, but you never really know what’s going to meet you when you get on the field,” Levison said. “They could have a totally new offense or a totally new defense. Obviously it’s not likely, but you never know.”
Levison explains that Saratoga’s bulkier players posed a challenge that required the Matadors to change their strategy. Both Bhagwat and Levison say that keeping up morale is also a crucial part of the game.
“I think just staying consistent and generally not making mistakes helps a lot,” Levison said. “There’s nothing more demoralizing than working hard, getting 15 yards and then getting some flag that pushes you back.”
Expectations surrounding the Homecoming game were hard to ignore. Bhagwat says the game ended with mixed emotions. He explains that while he wanted to see who would have won the game, helping the injured player came first.
“Everyone expects us to lose, they don’t expect us to do good,” Bhagwat said. “I notice that when we lose, they’re like, ‘Oh, I told you so,’ but when we win, they’re like ‘Wow, I’m so surprised.’ It feels bad, but at the end of the day, it’s about us and our family within football — it’s our brotherhood. It’s not about the rest of the school.”