Playing in Kezar stadium, the former 49ers stadium before they moved to Candlestick Park, the Falcons lost 38-7 to Sacred Heart Cathedral last Friday, dropping their overall record to 1-2.
The Falcons scored only one touchdown for the second game in a row.
Junior receiver Vinny Faylor said the cause of this problem was the team’s inability to capitalize on opportunities and tendency to turn the ball over.
Sacred Heart was able to generate 513 yards on offense for five touchdowns. Most of the damage was done on the ground where Sacred Heart rushed for 453 yards and all five of their touchdowns.
In particular, running back Jamar Williams-Sheppard racked up 233 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
The inability to stop the run was a repeat the Falcons’ game against Willow Glen where the Rams were able to pile on 391 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
After escaping with a 28-27 home win against Hillsdale on Sept. 5, the Falcons lost 33-7 to the Willow Glen Rams at home on Sept. 12.
Despite beating Willow Glen 40-37 last season, the Falcons couldn’t stop the Rams, who racked up 485 all-purpose yards and scored five touchdowns.
From the beginning, the Falcons couldn’t stop the ground attack of running backs Hakeem Mays and Isaiah Sires-Wils and the strong play of quarterback Josh Landers.
On Willow Glen’s first series, Mays managed to run for a 20-yard touchdown, putting the Rams up 7-0. Mays ended the game with 156 yards and two touchdowns.
The Falcons couldn’t get their offense going in the first half, generating only 14 yards in the first two quarters.
Willow Glen started off the second half by recovering an onside kick. Five plays later, Landers then ran the ball across the goal line for a touchdown extending the lead to 19-0.
The Falcons responded by cutting the deficit to 12 later in the quarter, when Medeiros ran in a one-yard touchdown that was set up by sophomore quarterback Will Liddle’s 17-yard pass to Medeiros.
The Rams then scored on a quick touchdown. Later in the fourth quarter, the Rams ran in one more touchdown, making the final score 33-7.
Head coach Tim Lugo attributes the team’s inconsistent performances to having young team, which includes seven sophomores.
“It’s a very young varsity team, so our performance on a week to week basis will be hard to gauge,” Lugo said. “I do, however, love our work ethic and effort so far.”
The Falcons will start their league campaign on an away game at Santa Clara High School on Oct. 3. They have a bye for this weekend.
Medeiros said that the Falcons will have to rely on a lot of heart in order to do well.
“We are not the strongest or biggest or fastest, but we will compete with anyone in the league for how much we want it,” Medeiros said.