Football lost 12-29 against Irvine, placing them in fourth in the Pacific Coast League with a 1-2 league record. The game took place on Saturday, October 13, after being delayed due to bad weather.
Though the team lost, the outstanding running game made a profound impact on team morale heading into the rivalry game against Woodbridge.
“Our running game has been the best it has all year,” junior Noah Nejad said.
The statistics reflected Nejad statement, as senior running back Eddie Castillo dominated with 29 touches for 207 yards and a touchdown, his highest rushing total of the year. Junior Branton Lucas also contributed 68 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“[The game] was very hard fought. The offensive line did an outstanding job creating holes for Eddie Castillo to run all over their defense,” senior Jared Harlan said.
As Harlan noted, the offensive line played a massive role in the running game’s success.
“I thought the offensive line had their best game of the year,” head coach Scott Meyer said.
Castillo also shared his thoughts on the game and what could have went better.
“I think that we had a solid game plan and I personally think that we did a good job, but we have to play better to get the results we want, and there were some mistakes that happened and were pretty costly,” Castillo said.
Mistakes, specifically penalties and turnovers, were a common concern among the players and coaches.
“I think we performed very well but the flags and the two interceptions really hurt us,” senior Daniel Fernandez said.
Aside from the mistakes, Coach Meyer believed there weren’t many differences between the teams.
“[Irvine] just made a few more plays than us, big plays on offense and defense, and that was the difference of the game,” Meyer said.
Meyer believes that fixing these mistakes will put the Trojans in a solid spot for the rest of the season.
“I mean if we can clear [the penalties and turnovers] up, I think we have a shot. We have really hurt ourselves quite a bit with penalties and turnovers for sure,” Meyer said.
Hopefully, the team can avoid those mistakes in a crucial battle against Woodbridge on October 19, as a loss could take the team out of CIF contention.