The football team defeated rival Miramonte by a score of 38-10 in Bob Wilson stadium on October 4. Going into the game, Campolindo had a record of 5-0, and Miramonte was 4-1.
Before the game, senior quarterback and captain Andrew Zolintakis believed that in order to keep the team successful, the team would have to remain focused. “The emotions will be running high,” he said.
The Cougars scored on their opening drive. Miramonte responded by scoring a touchdown with 8:03 left in the 1st quarter.
Zolintakis was intercepted on the Cougar’s following possession. His throw was deflected off his receiver’s hand and caught by a Miramonte defender. However, the Mats were forced to punt as the Campolindo defense held firm.
Campolindo’s offense, however, continued to struggle. Zolintakis was intercepted again, the result of another deflection.
“We could have let that game get away from us in that first half,” Coach Kevin Macy said.
Miramonte converted the 2nd interception into points by a kicking a field goal with 1:02 remaining in the 1st quarter. Campo was forced to punt right before the quarter ended, with the score 7-10 in favor of the Mats.
The game continued to be a back and forth battle through the half. Miramonte was forced to punt due to a false start penalty with 10:25 left in the 2nd quarter. Shortly thereafter, Campolindo turned the ball over on downs due to an incomplete pass. Miramonte was then intercepted in the end zone.
Miramonte head coach Jack Schram believed this was the turning point in the game. “We had 2 touchdowns called back early in the game, and then we threw an interception in the end zone,” he said.
The Cougars scored a touchdown with 2:37 left in the 2nd quarter to make the score 14-10. Miramonte was forced to punt on the following possession, due to an incomplete passes. This left time for Campolindo to kick a field goal with 14 seconds remaining in the 1st half. The score was 17-10 at the end of the 1st half.
Macy thought the game was stressful in the 1st half because they had to rearrange the lineup. “The whole 1st half had to be sorting out personnel, and where we placed people. It was a pretty exhausting 1st half,” he said.
Miramonte received the ball to start the 2nd half, but they were forced to punt again, due to personal and false start penalties. Campolindo scored another touchdown with 5:10 left in the 3rd quarter, extending their lead.
Campolindo scored another touchdown with 8:54 left in the 3rd quarter to make the score 31-10. With 6:25 left in the final quarter, the Mats turned the ball over on downs due to an incomplete pass. 13 seconds later, the Cougar’s junior running back Nick Fadelli scored on a 70 yard touchdown run.
The game concluded with a final score of 38-10.
Campolindo heads into their bye week with a perfect record. The Mats dropped to 4-2 after the loss.
