Despite a 42-13 loss to Wilcox (5-2) at the Homecoming game on Oct. 18, football (5-2) hopes to keep its season going strong.
Head coach David DeGeronimo said the defeat is a setback to the team’s morale.
“Losses are just really difficult, as hard as we (fought), so they are not feeling great,” DeGeronimo said.
Senior and wide receiver Jeremiah Fung said the team fought hard in the first half but started to lose momentum going into the third quarter.
“We started out quick and strong, played them hard, and then, I don’t know what happened, something snapped in us,” Fung said. “(Our) defense started lagging off, and then our offense wasn’t as explosive as we normally are. We really need to keep our energy and keep our explosiveness to our team.”
DeGeronimo said this decline in energy was in part due to the persistent Wilcox offense. He also said his team needs to consistently execute its roles throughout the game, regardless of how the opponents are playing.
“The biggest challenge tonight was stopping their offense, and it’s really hard to stop,” DeGeronimo said. “You have to make sure everybody’s doing their job. We overcome it by keep playing, keep executing and finding guys that are going to do their job.”
Moving forward, senior and running back Joseph Kessler said the team needs to focus more during practice so that they can work together strategically during games.
“We need to trust each other, and we need to go harder and practice,” Kessler said. “(Wilcox players are) tough. They’re strong, and we just needed performances. We didn’t make the big plays that we wanted to tonight, and that’s the difference in the game.”
DeGeronimo said he has high hopes for the rest of their season, though, as the team continues developing and puts in the work.
“It’s a performance-based business. That’s what I told the guys, because it doesn’t get any easier,” DeGeronimo said. “But that’s our goal — to get better every week.”
The team will play its next game on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Menlo-Atherton High School.
