The freshmen orange and white teams played against the Rouse Raiders on Sept. 24. The orange team lost 32-0, and the white team lost 15-0. Although both teams lost, the players still improved this game.

The orange team had a rough start, with the Rouse Raiders breaking through to score two touchdowns. The Warrior defense did step up their game, though and fought hard against the strong Raider offense. Even with the Warriors’ improvement, the Rouse team pushed harder to score another touchdown, ending the half.

“I think the team played well, both offensively and defensively,” Coach Carter said. “Even though we didn’t win, we competed and showed heart.”

During halftime, Coach Forr eloquently explained what could be improved. After listening to the coach, Alejandro Cardenas ‘19 got up to give a pep talk. The Warriors, now hyped, headed back out onto the field, ready to give their all.

Though Rouse scored a touchdown right away, the Warriors recovered a fumble, pumping up the excited and cheering team. Shortly after, Daemon Harris ‘19 ran and received the ball many times, gaining much yardage. At the same time, quarterback Mohan Hegde ‘19 had many successful runs and threw a successful pass to Jack Granger ‘19. When the Warriors finally managed to throw the ball into the endzone, there was a flag on the play, and they did not get the touchdown. Heartbroken, the orange team was forced to admit defeat to another Rouse touchdown.

“We are improving each week and will use our off week to get healthy and work on our fundamentals,” Coach Carter said. “We look forward to playing the Mavericks and starting our win streak against the rest of the district.”

The white team also did well despite losing. The game started out with a Rouse touchdown, but undiscouraged, Mario Debs ‘19 still made many great runs. Later, Luca Mazzola ‘19 received an interception and ran a kick return of more than sixty yards. However, the half drew to a close, and the Warriors were not able to put any points on the scoreboard, even with their hard work.

“Our defense has really stepped it up with their picks and fourth down stops, and the offense has also stepped up with their first downs,” Jeb Armstrong ‘19 said.

During halftime, the players gathered around the coaches, who gave a short speech on what they could do to improve. The players then started getting pumped for the second half, and broke out, ready to stop the other team.

Once on the field, the Warrior defense did extremely well. Aidan Kubesh ‘19 stopped many offensive plays and was overall a great tackler. However, the Rouse offense managed to get another touchdown, ending the game with a score of 15-0.

“It was by far the best game we’ve played as a team,” Kubesh said. “Our defense was communicating, and everyone was on the same page, which led to our successful defense last game.”

The next freshman game will be against the McNeil Mavericks on Oct. 7 at McNeil at 5:00 p.m.