Varsity football fell short in their CCS semifinal game against Aptos High School, losing 49-35. Although the first three-quarters of the game was competitive, the Viking’s fatigue began to show at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Senior and cornerback Erick Taylor said from a defensive standpoint, certain drawn-up plays that Aptos continuously ran caused exhaustion for his team. “They continuously ran a Wing-T play on offense which means they have four different running backs, so you wouldn’t know who had the ball at any point,” Taylor said. “And the rain threw us off, especially when the ball was out of sight. We also had a couple of penalties on both defense and offense which were bad drive-killers.” The Vikings also faced serious injuries to their starting lineup early in the playoffs. Senior wide receiver and captain Jeremiah Fung, out with a shoulder injury late in the season, made his playoff debut against Aptos. Fung said rushing back from an injury can be a dangerous risk. “The recovery road when I got hurt was looking long,” Fung said. “I saw a couple of doctors who told me it was not going to be easy. I was still doing as much PT as possible to get healthy and get back on the field with my brothers. From a team perspective, I felt like there was a different energy out on the field, and over time, as a team, we were able to pick ourselves back up.” Fung also said as a senior, the leadership role he and others hold on the team can be beneficial and inspirational for the next class of seniors. “Leading by example is the biggest thing for me and a lot of the other boys,” Fung said. “Helping the juniors step into leadership roles because we have a lot of people on the team who can step into those roles. It’s all about getting people to do the small things which make a difference such as being more vocal is what makes a good leader.”