By Esperanza Landeros
As of week six of the varsity football season, our Warriors have cruised into a 4-2 record, one of the more successful seasons in recent years—and celebrating some very triumphant moments along the way.
The season began on Friday, Aug. 18—at Rincon. Pueblo was a heavy favorite to win—and that is exactly what our Warriors did. The final score was 58-0! This game definitely set the tone for a winning season.
A week later, on Friday, Aug. 25, Pueblo was victorious again. After 28 years, the Warriors edged out the Sunnyside Blue Devils, with a final score of 7-6. Junior Omar Ibañez was known as “Sunnyside’s Nightmare” that evening for completing countless sacks. In fact, he earned “Player of the Week” and was interviewed on Channel 4 (KVOA).
The winning streak continued—as we hosted the Cholla Chargers for the first time in recent years. This evening coincided with Pueblo’s Homecoming on Friday, Sept. 8. Omar Ibañez had six touchdowns during the game, and our Warriors slaughtered the Chargers with a final score of 66-46. Coach Sanders said, “We prepared ourselves and worked hard. Also, we knew what we were doing—offensively and defensively.”
Unfortunately, the undefeated Warriors were devastated after their first loss of the season when they played the next week, on Friday, Sept. 15, as the Walden Grove Red Wolves devoured Pueblo, with a final score of 40-8. “Despite the loss, players stayed positive and continued to fight like the Warriors we are,” said senior Ernesto Estopellan.
Game Five of the season also proved to be heartbreaking—as Pueblo traveled to Salpointe Catholic High School. Although the Warriors lost this game by a score of 42-0, the loss allowed them to become even more motivated to be triumphant during their next game. Many defensive players needed to improve their tackling skills.
The Warriors did, indeed, come back fiercer than before—playing Rio Rico on Thursday, Sept. 28. Senior Raúl German completed three sacks, and defense put up a great fight and didn’t let any of the Hawks come through our Warriors. In the end, our Warriors had the Hawks flying back to their nest. Junior Ruben Rivera scored three touchdowns alone in this game, and the offense also did great, but senior quarterback Dominic Carrillo had difficulty completing the passes to add more to the scoreboard. The final score was 35-0.
The Warriors still have four games left this season, including Friday, Oct. 6. The team wishes that we continue to have our Warriors support us at each of these games.