Head coach: Tim Lugo
2018-2019 season record: 6-5
2018-2019 season recap: Preseason was disappointing with only one win, but the team went 5-1 in league and tied for first.
Key Additions: junior center/middle linebacker Nathan Murthy
Key Matchups: Piedmont Hills tonight, Los Gatos next Friday
Star players: senior quarterback Payton Stokes, senior receiver George Bian, senior receiver/cornerback Max Muilenberg, junior running back Tyler Chaffin
Key Losses (graduated athletes): running back JJ Wang, linemen Devin Mather and Matt Andary
League: Santa Clara Valley Athletics League, El Camino division
Prognosis:
After convincing wins against Gunderson and Silver Creek in their first two pre-season games, the football team is off to an impressive start. The team won 47-7 away at Gunderson on Aug. 30 to kick off the season and then followed up with a 44-7 win against Silver Creek on Sept. 6 in their home opener.
While this success in the beginning of the season has been unprecedented relative to recent seasons, the true test for the team lies in their next games. They will face Piedmont Hills today and Los Gatos next Friday, games which many players expect to be the two hardest games of the season.
Senior wide receiver George Bian attributes their early season success to the development of their young core compounded with their ability to work well as a team, traits that he thinks will be vital throughout the season.
“Basically all of our offensive unit from last year were juniors or underclassmen, so our offense has not seen many changes,” said Bian. “We’ve gotten so much better at working with each other and knowing each other’s tendencies that we are able to continuously put up points in their board”
The Falcons characteristic “air-raid” offense, which stands out because of its emphasis on passing instead of running, was widely anticipated to be the hallmark of the team, especially with many returning veterans on the team. What has surprised many spectators, however, has been the Falcons’ defense’s ability to get consistent stops throughout the game.
“Our defense has been very impressive this year,” said senior defensive end Tyler Ouchida. “Even though many people were expecting our offense to carry, we’ve been really solid on defense and only allowed one score in each game.”
The Falcons will face more competition in the upcoming weeks, with tough matchups against Piedmont Hills and Los Gatos.
“Los Gatos has quite a few players being recruited by division one colleges,” Bian said. “But I believe our teamwork and chemistry is much stronger, and as long as everyone does their job, we will come out with a victory.”