Football: Falcons struggle to win games

On Oct. 18, the Falcons played the Palo Alto Vikings at home and lost 55-21. This result continued the Falcons’ losing streak from the past few games, making their overall record 1-5.

Despite the fact that Palo Alto has senior Keller Chryst, one of the best quarterbacks in the area, the Falcons managed to put up 21 points on the board. Senior quarterback Jonathan Walters threw 10 completions, totaling 257 yards and one touchdown pass to senior Jacob Camp. The other two touchdowns were scored by junior Joey Medeiros on the ground. 

“I thought that we played well at times but very poorly at others,” senior wide receiver Grant Faylor said. “We have not taken momentum early in the game with our offense and if we're going to start winning games we need to start putting up more points.”

The team has been suffering from numerous key injuries that have affected the team’s performance. Seniors Wilson Kung, Kyle McCroskey and Nick Gummow were injured for the Milpitas game on Oct. 11, and senior Christian Lee is out for the season due to a torn ACL after the win against Willow Glen on Sept. 20.

Not only have the Falcons been lacking essential players from injuries, but also the team is still having trouble building chemistry together.

“Obviously we are a struggling team right now. We have the potential of being  one of the best, but we really haven't found ourselves yet,” Lee said. “I think that we don't have the same team chemistry that we had last year and once we build these connections we'll be one of the most fun teams to watch.”

Senior captain and offensive lineman Clark Rothenberg sees the team’s performance the same way.

“The team this year is having trouble executing and playing well as a team and not just individuals,” Rothenberg said. “We came out weak on offense, mainly due to the mismatches of the offensive line versus their defensive line, yet still the offensive line played poorly.”

On Oct. 11, the Falcons traveled to Milpitas and lost 54-14, which underscored another major loss in the season. 

“Even though the scoreboard in no way reflects it, our effort was there,” Rothenberg said.

Milpitas has always been one of the best teams in the league and a contender for the CCS title, making any game against them tough.

“I'm a firm believer in that any team can beat any team, but when a powerhouse like Milpitas plays to their highest level, it is difficult for us, at the disadvantage of size, skill and number of players, to compete no matter how well we play,” Rothenberg said.

In order for the Falcons to turn around their season, they must double up their efforts to change their game strategy.

“We need to start the game off strong because momentum helps the coaches and players get into a rhythm.” Lee said. “Also, we need to capitalize on opportunities like fumbles, interceptions, and good field position.”

The Falcons played rival Los Gatos away on Oct. 25 and the scores can be found on the sidebar on page 23. They will play the Santa Clara Bruins tonight at home.