The Issaquah Eagles varsity football team went up against the Mount Si Wildcats last Friday in an unfortunate yet eventful 50-12 defeat. Three minutes into the first quarter, a touchdown and P.A.T. by the Wildcats left the score 7-0, setting off a competitive energy that electrified the players and student sections of both teams. Despite the several touchdowns that Mount Si made, there were over nine fouls called against the Wildcats for false starts, unsportsmanlike behavior, and personal fouls. The Eagles maintained their integrity and energy throughout. A clear focus allowed them to score two touchdowns in the second and fourth quarter respectively. Regardless of the final outcome, the Issaquah varsity football team remains optimistic and concentrated on improvement. 

Junior defensive back Spencer Hawk says, “Obviously it’s not too great that we lost, but when it was 21-0 on the scoreboard I was just trying to have fun from that point on.” One of this game’s key players, Hawk solidified the defense after several successful tackles against the Wildcats. Alongside senior running back Henry Hess, Hawk made impressive runs returning kicks and gaining significant yards for Issaquah. Hawk says, “I kinda get benched sometimes, but I think I played well.” He hopes his performance in this game will prompt the coaches to utilize his agility and power in the future.

Senior defense captain Ragen Kiefer says, “We had some tackling issues this game, not sure why, but that’s something we have to clean up for sure. We also need to give the offense the ball more, in these next three weeks I want the defense to get at least two or three turnovers a game.” 

It’s true the offense had little play time this game, but the Eagles made do with what they had. It was a struggle to break through Mount Si’s tough defense blockades, but sophomore quarterback Asher Liddle managed to make several passes to senior Julian Ohmie and junior Spencer Blumenthal throughout the game. Senior running back Chembe Fontama also had a number of successful carries in the last quarter before the clock ran out. Head coach Joshua Brookshire says, “Our team played very hard and made some big plays, just not enough of them.”

During the final quarter, a particularly nasty tackle left Kiefer with an eye injury that resulted in a trip to the emergency room mid-game. He says, “When I got hurt I wasn’t really thinking about anything because I couldn’t see and I had a ton of adrenaline going, but I was really just trying to figure out what was wrong and how bad it was. First thing that went through my head was that I wasn’t done yet. I’ve got three games left and I couldn’t end my season here.” It is undetermined when Kiefer will be cleared for return,  but he hopes it will be soon. While the Eagles defense will take a major hit without Kiefer, the team will persevere in his temporary absence. Sophomore tight-end Benjamin Wing says he “admires all the seniors” on the team and looks up to them. While Kiefer may be physically out, his leadership will remain inspiring to his teammates. 

Kiefer says, “We need 11 guys doing their job on every play. All it takes is one blown assignment to get scored on. We’re just going to try to get better week by week, prepare as much as we can, and see if we can get another couple of wins to end the year.” Coach Brookshire remarks, “This season we’ve been focusing on developing the behaviors that lead to success that are defined in our ‘Eagle Way’. Own your 20, put the team before yourself, hard work is the price of admission, be professional and be here now. We have been improving in those throughout the season and expect to continue to improve.” The Issaquah varsity football team plays Inglemoor High School next at Pop Keeney Stadium on Oct. 16 at 7pm. Be sure to come out and support the Eagles!