Football Article

Granted, I could not recover the final drafts of these stories and there are most likely some small errors here and there. However, I chose these articles because they have interesting leads and story lines and also sufficient sources:





Not much more could have gone wrong for the hap hazard Dons in their final two weeks of the season. Losing their star quarterback, senior Robbie Pestal only marked the start to the bumpy road of the dwindling Dons. Despite getting trumped in their previous game, the 6-4 Dons snuck into the playoffs as the sixth seed, supposedly ready to face the 8-2 Encinal Jets.

“We knew we were at a disadvantage going into the playoffs. Robbie had been the guy we could depend on all season so we knew it would be hard without him,” said senior receiver Evan Howard.

The field was a sight to be seen for the few that made the trek through the tunnel. The sloppily construed, muddy grass was caked with thick, low visibility fog. Thus, the season ending mud-wrestle of Acalanes was far less than a pretty sight.

The Encinal Jets came out hot, scorching the frozen Dons who opened with three downs of inefficient offense and a punt.

Taking advantage of their shoddy counterparts, the Jets capitalized, running all over Acalanes. Capped off by a 57-yard touchdown run by Jeff Owens, Encinal ran circles around the flat-footed Dons, streaking past the pylons.

Although on their ensuing possession Acalanes showed brief signs of life, but soon snapped out of their clean, polished dream with two overthrown passes and two short legged rushes, giving the ball up on downs.

“It was really hard to watch the team struggle through their last game. We all knew it was going to be a long fight,” said Pestal.

In the second quarter, an endless sea of aired-out passes and brick-walled runs for the Dons were no match for the perfected running game of the Jets.
After a 30-yard touchdown run by Encinal’s Kelly Portis was quickly followed by a 47-yard scoring run from the quarterback, dead silence fell over the Acalanes sideline. Visible out of gas, the mud-stained Dons sunk their heads as they sulked into the half, trailing 20-0.

Before play began in the second half, the gasping Acalanes seemed to have a new breath of life as they held their heads up determined to give a name for themselves. Yet nevertheless, it would be struck out of them after a 48-yard Jets touchdown.

Although sophomore Tyler Caldwell took the following snaps, there was ultimately no effect. On their ensuing possession, the Jets took it another 57 yards on the ground, leading to a short touchdown pass. And so with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter, the Dons faced a mountain of deficit, down 33-0.

As the offense marched on following countless Jet touchdowns, the Dons lacked hustle and heart. Their now brown jerseys gave light a previous 45 minutes of being run to the ground on both ends of the field.

In the final minute of the third quarter, offering a final slap to the already-bruised face of the Dons, Encinal ran the length of the field, scoring off a 20-yard run to push the score to 40-0.

Yet in the fourth quarter, the Dons found themselves closer to the end zone than they had gotten all game. On the Jets’ nine-yard line, it appeared it appeared the Dons were slightly out of their element. However, after remembering the glory days of weeks past, Acalanes ran a few choppy plays and a two-yard touchdown run from junior Brendan Quinn came out of the mix.

But, as the Jets took their final knees, leading 46-7, it was all laughs for the fans and players when counting down the final seconds.

But for the Dons it was a completely different story. Finding themselves at an all-time low was not exactly an ideal way to end the season. Being plowed over for 513 yards on the ground and only fighting back with 197 yards of total offense contrasted the days of 300+ yard combinations between Baker and Pestal.

But speaking of the previous five weeks of their season, the Dons won games no one expected them to and if it weren’t for the injury stricken squad in the playoffs, the Dons surprising run may have continued. Earning all league as well as best in the bay honors, seniors Pestal and Baker were rewarded for their efforts in carrying the Dons.

“Ideally we would have ended the season on a better note. But overall, looking back we have a lot to be proud of from this year,” said Pestal.