Sports

Football season comes to a close

November 13, 2017

Tristan Lucas (Sr.) was effective running the ball, scoring two of his three touchdowns against Beckman on the ground. (M, Chinn)

By SHAWNLY KHOYILAR
Staff Writer
The Football team did not progress to CIF due to the loss of a key match against rival Woodbridge with a score of 28-56.
After losing to CdM and Irvine, the loss against Woodbridge eliminated them from CIF contention.
Quarterback Tristan Lucas (Sr.) had 148 passing yards throughout the Woodbridge game, and Daniel Dolan (Sr.) had a total of 138 rushing yards. “I’m sad but as we all know, all good things will come to an end,” middle linebacker Max Haughey (Sr.) said. “We played aggressively but just had some key mistakes when we really couldn’t afford them.”
On November 2, the team won their last game of the season against Beckman, 35-21.
They would have tied for third place with Irvine and Northwood in PCL had Northwood won against Irvine. If Northwood had won, the football team would have had a chance to play in CIF.
Dolan and Branton Lucas (So.) both rushed for 104 yards against Beckman. T. Lucas passed for 64 yards and a touchdown and added two touchdowns on the ground. Dolan led the team with 846 yards on the season, followed by B. Lucas with 451 yards and older brother T. Lucas 205 yards. Josiah Henry (Sr.), and Farbod Memarian (Sr.) tied for the team lead with three interceptions each.
The players and Coach Mark Cunningham (Athletic Dept.) honored their late Coach Gene Molway before the Woodbridge Game. “Coach Molway instilled everything that a football team needs. Discipline, respect, effort, accountability, leadership, perseverance, and most importantly, brotherhood,” T. Lucas said. “He didn’t only make us all better football players, but also helped us grow into better men which was his main concern.”
Haughey described his hopes for his teammates, saying, “for younger guys, just work hard and do everything you do with a purpose.”
Despite losing two of their key players, Alex Pourdanesh (Sr.) and Julian Pourdanesh (Sr.) at the beginning of the season, the football team looks to the future with hope. The team stepped up in their absences and fought through every game. Quarterback Thomas Keeling (Jr.) was out for the season due to his torn ACL, but is expected to return next year. B. Lucas and Zach Goodfriend (Jr.) are key offensive players that will look to lead the team to their first CIF qualification since 2015.

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