The Varsity Football team began Rio Hondo League play with a 7-24 loss against the visiting La Cañada Spartans. This season, the Rams are adjusting to a new coaching staff and hope to quickly turn around their overall record of 2-5.
“The new regime set up by the coaches has been tough,” Senior Miguel De Leon said. “It’s real strenuous, but we’re obviously seeing results. We’ve scored more points this season than we did almost all last season.”
The Rams flew out of the gate to begin their season with an impressive offensive shoot out against the Arroyo Knights on Sept. 5. However, the Rams lost by a score of 42-32, but bounced back with another terrific offensive performance against Alhambra, defeating the Moors by a score of 33-14.
After a tough loss to Eagle Rock on Sept. 19, the Rams ran over the San Gabriel Matadors 43-0. The team then lost their final preseason game in a close battle against the Azusa Aztecs on Oct. 3 by a score of 34-28.
The Rams entered league against the La Cañada Spartans on Sept. 10. Both teams went into halftime tied 7-7 after Senior Kyle Floyd scored a touchdown in the first quarter. However, the Rams fell behind after Spartans put up 17 points early in the second half and could not erase that deficit. The Rams suffered another tough loss against the Monrovia Wildcats on Oct. 17. The team has to win the remainder of its games to qualify for the C.I.F. playoffs.
“The number one thing for us to do–and it’s been our Achilles’ heel all year–is defense,” De Leon said. “We can score points like crazy, and we’ve played against some of the best defenses around, scoring double digits each game, but we need to really step up and keep our opponents contained.”
Injuries and sickness have also been an obstacles for the Rams this year. The team lost multiple players after they contracted hand, foot and mouth disease. Other players were sidelined after suffering concussions and other injuries, including Sophomore Jared Seery, who was the team’s starting right tackle before fracturing his hand during the Azusa game.
The Rams have four more league games and will square off against the Blair Vikings on Oct. 24 at 7:00 p.m. for the homecoming game.