By INDIANA FULLER
Staff Writer
On Friday, October 24, University High School (UHS) lost to Corona del Mar High School (CDM) 0-35. The team was playing without six injured key starters, including quarterback Wes Jordan (Sr.) and backup quarterback Neil Boudreau (Jr.). As a result, Andre Campbell (Jr.) stepped up to play quarterback for this game.
In the first quarter, the Trojans did not score any points. CDM came out strong, scoring the first touchdown, making the score 0-7. CDM continued its streak in the second quarter, scoring three more touchdowns.
Matt Abellaneda (Jr.) said, “In the second quarter, our defense didn’t seem focused. Playing a team like CDM, we can’t afford to make deadly mistakes.”
Fortunately, in the third quarter, CDM scored its last touchdown of the game. As UHS entered the fourth quarter, CDM had a total of 35 points.
UHS managed to prevent CDM from scoring any touchdowns in the last quarter. Parker Dickey (Sr.) said, “We were sick of CDM scoring on us. We showed true perseverance by not getting scored on in the 4^th quarter.”
Injuries are currently a major obstacle for UHS. Six players: Jordan, Boudreau, Tristan Lee-Jones (Sr.), Weitai Sun (Sr.), Kiyan Sorat (Sr.) and Maverick Freedlander (Jr.) were injured and unable to play against CDM. Jones, Jordan and Freedlander are suffering from concussions, while Sun has a shoulder injury. Sorat and Boudreau both have knee injuries.
Since both starting quarter back Jordan and backup quarter back Boudreau were injured, wide receiver Andre Campbell (Jr.) played the position for this game.
Coach Mr. Mark Cunningham (Athletics Dept.) said, “We went into the game against CDM, #1 team in Division IV, without 6 starters. Neil Boudreau was our leading receiver, backup QB, punter, and punt returner.  Wes Jordan was our starting QB. Our JV QB Anthony Medina has a broken arm. We had tryouts on Monday for QB and the person who won the job was Andre Campbell. He had been a safety and receiver for us.”
When asked how the injuries affected the team’s play, Cunningham said, “It has made things challenging.  I look at this as an opportunity for players who had not been playing to step up and show what they have to offer our team.  We had changes in the offensive and defensive lines, we had changes in the secondary and obviously at quarterback.  And we had to make several changes for our special teams.”
Jordan, who suffered a concussion in the previous game, said, “The concussion was a big blow to my season and it’s sad to see two weeks of my senior season go by without me on the field, but I’m also lucky to be able to help prepare the younger quarter backs. Also the fact that Neil Boudreau is still injured, with the addition of being our backup QB option, is unlucky.”
UHS’ next game will be on Halloween, Friday, October 31, at home against Northwood High School.