By Tim Garcia

The fans who traveled to Malibu on Saturday, Nov. 1 to watch the Falcons take on the Sharks of Malibu High School were not disappointed by the exciting outcomes of both games.

The Junior Varsity team continues to overpower their opponents. With a score of 40-0 at halftime the coaching staff thought it best to take out the starting line-up for the second half. Even with this move the defensive squad did not give up any points. Notable in this game was the outstanding running of Max Arteaga, Lance Cole and Brian Graff. The defensive line and backfield, along with the offensive line, continue to improve behind the strength of players like Matt Morgan, Sean Holcolm, Carey Moulder and Bryce Gendron.

The Sharks of Malibu were not prepared for the hard-hitting Falcons and succumbed early in the game. Patrick Moulder continues to improve as the JV back-up quarterback as the team awaits the return of Nick Bettis. The JV team is now 6-1 overall and is on its way to the best JV season in Frazier Mountain High School history.

The Varsity team played one of its finest and most exciting games of the season. The 18-17 win over the Sharks puts the team at 4-4 overall and keeps the hopes high for a league championship with two games remaining.

The coaching staff gave the players an inspirational speech before the game and the Falcons had fire in their eyes as they walked onto the field. Still the Sharks scored 10 points in the first half due to the failure of the Falcons to get into the end zone after several close attempts.

The Falcons were more determined than the coaches had seen them all year in the second half. No matter what the outcome was going to be, the Sharks would remember that the Falcons had come to town and their aching bodies would be a reminder. The punishing blows dished out by Ethan Fausto, Bob Burns, Josh Kern and Josh Carlson would definitely leave a lasting impression.

The Falcons came back with two quick touchdowns and lead 12-10 by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Mike Morgan took the team down field by great individual running and pinpoint passing. Great receiving by Alex Steenackers, Jake Gale and Bob Burns helped secure these muchneeded points.

As the clock ticked down to the final minutes, with the Sharks now leading 12-17, both the offensive and defensive lines knew that the outcome of the game was now in their hands.

Nick Bozanich, Steven Russell, Michael Macaluso and Andrew Jens held the lines firm and gave the Falcons the time needed to get the ball back, to not only score the winning touchdown but to defensively stop the Sharks in the middle of the field to foil the Sharks’ hope to kick a field goal.

As the clock ran out the Falcon sideline and fans screamed with joy.

The coaches got the team together in the middle of the field and told them, “we’ve really balanced out our team both offensively and defensively, and we think you are now a really solid squad. The coaches feel that you are now ready to play the two most important games of the season.”

After a tough loss to Rosamond the week before and the emotional ups and downs that usually occur late in every season, the team showed they are able to put it all together and come out to play four quarters of intense football.

This Friday, Nov. 7, Frazier Mountain will host Bishop High School. It will be ‘Senior Night’ and the last scheduled home football game of the season. A win against Bishop would bring the team to the steps of a league championship. The coaches and players hope that as many fans as possible attend to cheer them on.

This is part of the November 07, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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