Going into Homecoming night, the Stallion football team was 0-5 and eager to get their first win (0 wins and 5 defeats). Unfortunately, the team was not able to pull off the win they hoped for, ending the game at 29-6 against El Modena. However, the game was still made memorable with a sold out stadium, student run halftime show, and fireworks.

One of the difficulties from the game was rushing the ball from the start. 

“Early on we couldn’t really get our run game established,” said sophomore quarterback, Micheal “Butter” Tollefson.  “We didn’t set dominance up front and it [offense] kinda went all from there.” 

The six points that were scored by the Stallion’s were contributed by a late fourth quarter rushing touchdown, courtesy of junior running back, Sullivan Land. 

On the other side of the ball, the Stallion defense also experienced difficulty, giving up 29 points to El Modena.

“Some people [players] maybe were expecting other people [players] to make plays,” said senior defensive back Christian Pioche. “A couple broken plays here and there. It is what it is, I mean there’s nothing we could change about it now. We just keep going forward.”

Pioche is not alone in looking ahead to the next game. The next opponent that the Stallions will face off against is a dreaded rival. “Just to get locked in for the next game,” said senior wide receiver, Briggs Marquis. “We got Tesoro next week, it’s a rivalry. And you know it’s going to be big. And it’s going to be at their place and we want to upset them.” 

It only makes sense for the Roughriders to look forward. One of the factors that likely plays into the Stallions season long struggles is their challenging list of opponents. All six of the teams that San Juan have faced, up to this point, are all within the top 45 in the CIF Southern Section Rankings. The Stallions will have an increase in depth at wide receiver against Tesoro with sophomores Nori Harris and Christopher Williams, who are set to make their Stallion debuts down Los Patrones Parkway on Friday night. Under CIF rules, both wideouts had to undergo a “sit out period” (SOP). This was due to both Harris and Williams transferring to San Juan Hills this summer. 

The Stallions have four games remaining on their schedule, three of which are league games. 

“[It’s up to the Stallions to] …practice hard everyday. And make sure [they] are fully prepared every single week to make sure stuff like that [result vs. El Modena] doesn’t happen [again],” said Pioche.