SMHS Varsity Football Team is off to a Good Start
Our Bearcat football players are off to a good season with two wins and two losses at press time and a great attitude.
“This team has a unique bond that is hard to explain. They are dedicated and passionate about representing San Mateo,” said varsity coach Jeff Scheller. “They are getting along great, they help each other out on the field and off.”
San Mateo won its first game against South San Francisco High School, crushing the opponent with a final score of 41 to 28 on August 26.
The second game, though, against Aragon High School, shocked the crowd. Aragon won the game 42-14. Then, the Bearcats lost again to Los Altos High School 21-17 in a disappointing outing.
That didn’t crush their spirit, though, because they won their fourth game against Mission High School in a very close and exciting game.
Mission took the lead with a field goal in the first quarter. Then not much happened until 14 seconds before the half “when they traded quick touchdowns,” according to the game recap on sanmateoathletics.org.
“SMHS scored after a long drive on a 19-yard TD pass from Austin Salvail to Joe Baker. But Mission returned the ensuing kickoff to their 48 and then 2015 City Player of the Year, QB Niamey Harris, heaved a Hail Mary pass standing at his own 40 all the way to the end zone for a Bear touchdown to lead at the half 10-7,” the recap said.
Our bearcats fought back with touchdowns by Anderson Perdomo and junior Da’hareeha Allen which led the team to a breath-holding victory of 28-25, pulled off with Mission threatening on the 20-yard line and just about ready to score once more.
Standouts in the third quarter included Chris Lopez, who recovered a fumble on Mission’s 10-yard line, and a 15-yard run by Boris Mazin, bringing the ball close enough for Perdomo to score.
The fourth quarter belonged to Allen, who impressed with a 32-yard run to the end zone. Luckily, too, our Defense was able to hold off Mission’s attempt to come back.
Football fan Ted Pei, a freshman, has hope for the bearcats because of their wins and believes that San Mateo will have a “very great season.” He also believes that the Bearcats could do better this season if they had more, “team coordination, and produced better plays. But, overall I feel that they are a very strong and ready team for the season. ”
For exciting football, come out to root on the team tomorrow, Sept. 30, when league play begins against Jefferson.
