EC Football Team takes the win for their first game

By Dracos Chism, Sports Editor

After a summer of practice and conditioning in preparation for the football season, The El Camino Football Team defeated Armijo High School with a final score of 36-28 after a hard fought game. 

“We were pretty resilient, we stuck with it,” said Head Coach John Dolliver, on the game. 

It was a show of resilience as EC played through multiple injuries, big plays by the other team and turnovers which cost them a 28-10 lead. 

“Our nutrition and hydration were also factors,” Dolliver explained, as many players went out with injuries involving a lack of water. 

However, when it came time for big plays, EC didn’t disappoint. Four of the five touchdowns during the game came courtesy of EC’s newest addition, Tyrone Simmons (‘24), who transferred from Del Campo High School over the summer. 

“I was excited and nervous at the same time, but I was pretty confident in myself,” Simmons said. 

Despite Simmons’ efforts, EC’s multiple injuries helped Armijo comeback in the second half,  to tie the game at 28-28 with less than five minutes left. After an unsuccessful EC drive, Armijo had the ball with less than one minute to play. 

“When we were tied, [the goal was] to get the ball back,” Mason Guess (‘23) said, who helped the team by making a huge play late in the fourth quarter. 

With 19 seconds left in the game, Guess sacked Armijo’s quarterback, forcing a fumble and setting the team up for a game winning score. 

With time expiring, it was crucial for an EC player to step up and make a play. Using a different strategy from the rest of the game, Dolliver called a passing play; a risk that he was willing to take. 

“We were running out of time,” explained Dolliver, on the decision to call a throwing play. 

With five seconds left, Quarterback Elijah Serrano (‘23) rolled out of the pocket and fired the ball to the corner of the end zone to Receiver Jaedyn Marez (‘23), who happened to be celebrating his birthday that night. 

“That made it ten times better,” said Marez, on the late night birthday present. “It was cool that I caught the game winner, but on my birthday, in front of everybody, it just felt really good.” 

After a tough game resulting in a win for EC, the team hopes to go far throughout the season and continue to keep the high morale.