By Kevin Pham

Features Editor

Say Hut Football prepares for another play during the Arroyo High School faceoff on September 21 at Gabrielino. The Eagles lost against the Knights, 7-42.

  On Friday Sept. 21, the Gabrielino High School varsity football team faced off against the Arroyo High School Knights at the Eagle Stadium. After a night full of anticipation, the GHS Eagles lost, 7-42.

  It was clear the the Eagles were no match for the AHS Knights; however, their preparation for the 2018-2019 season has shown that work hard pays off.

  This year, the Eagles started off their game season before the school year even started, having their first home game on Friday Aug. 17.

  “[Currently] we [hold] a 4-2 record which is definitely way better than the last few years,” stated junior Maurizio Iacono. “We still all know we have to work harder to make playoffs.”

  Being only their second loss of the year, the Eagles were hopeful that they will carry their luck to the rest of the season.

  Iacono said, “[The team has] had some ups and downs but we’ve definitely worked hard enough to show that we are the real deal this year.”

  The previous week on Sept. 14, the Eagles squared off against the Mountain View High School Vikings in an away game. They battled their hardest against MVHS, bringing home a win for GHS, 21-14.

  “Losing to Temple City [the previous week] was disheartening and as a team, we never wanted to feel that way again,” said senior Jacob Baldonado.

That game proved to be a difficult challenge for the Eagles. Not only did they lose to the Temple City High School Rams 14-26, they also lost a player, junior Chris Rodriguez.

  During the 4th quarter of the game, Rodriguez  took a hit to his neck, causing him to blackout. Despite his full recovery, the entire team was shaken from the incident.

   The TCHS game was also the Eagles’ first loss of the season, however, their previous winning streak of 3-0 displays great improvement from previous seasons.

In order to rectify their mistakes at TCHS on Sept. 6, the Eagles worked frivolously in order to prepare for their match against MVHS.

  In two days, Eagles will square off against Eagles in the GHS vs. South El Monte High School Game on Sept. 28.

  Hopefully, the GHS varsity Eagles do not fall back into the rut that plagued the team in past years. The success that the GHS varsity eagles encountered this year proves that with hard work, comes great rewards.

 The team does not let their newfound triumphs cloud their judgement however, as they will continue to train diligently no matter the numbers of wins and losses.

  “One thing our coaches have always told us since the start of the season was to never be content with what we have already accomplished,” sta  ted Baldonaldo. “We are always working towards our future.”