On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Issaquah’s football C-team faced off against Liberty High School. Throughout the high-scoring game, both fans and teams were persistent and supportive. In the first half of the game, Liberty took the game by storm, with a score of 6-23, but as the second half began, the Eagles brought their A-game, scoring an additional two touchdowns, ending the game with a score of 20-30 in Liberty’s favor.
The Liberty Patriots began the game with fierce spirit and skill, scoring the first touchdown within minutes. Although the Eagles fought back, Liberty came on too fast and strong and were able to aggressively plow through Issaquah. During the hostile battle for the ball within the first quarter of the game, a player was brought down and ended up limping off the field. Coach Reece Wonio says on behalf of Liberty’s team; “They’re a good football team. They’re well coached and well-disciplined and they ran the ball really well and kept pounding it in on us. We made some adjustments but they’re a really good football team.”
Throughout the game, there were large amounts of penalties, incomplete passes, and fumbles, from both teams. As Liberty continued to score, the Eagles brought their ferocity and were able to stop many additional attempts to score made by the Patriots. Issaquah C-Team Coach Wonio says, “I think we have heart. I think that this team doesn’t give up, doesn’t quit, and that’s probably the biggest strength that we have, and we have a lot of good talent, we just need to focus on that talent on our way.” Finally, when the score rested at 0 to 20, number 11 Freshman Rohan Jonnala, a wide receiver and tight end for Issaquah, ran the ball from the 30-yard line, and the Eagles were able to score their first touchdown to begin to even out the score. However, Liberty was able to block the Eagles’ attempt for the extra points, putting the score at 6-20.
Right before halftime, Liberty was able to score a field goal and increase their lead to 6-23. As halftime began, the Eagles were ready to up their score and take the lead. There were some amazing passes made, and great team spirit shown. The Eagles’ offensive moves skyrocketed with skill. Number 91 Sophomore Austin Ungaro and number 44 freshman Luke Gallant made some great stops, with number 70 freshman Tyler Sarsoun completing many passes, and number 28 freshman Preston True with some exceptional tackling. The announcer for the game proclaimed, “They’re being brought down by a flock of Eagles!”
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Liberty was able to score yet another touchdown, bringing the score to 6-30. But soon after, Issaquah was able to score again, making the score 14-30. With just under 10 seconds left on the clock, number 1 Connor Cotton was able to score the last touchdown of the game, leaving the score 20-30.
Overall, there is a mutual feeling of disappointment among the Eagles. Number 1 freshman Connor Cotton, a wide receiver, corner player, and kicker for the C-team says he feels, “not good about it, but at least towards the end we had more aggression.” Freshman Nikhil Shankar says, “I feel like we could have won.” However, Coach Wonio remained proud, saying, “I think we played really hard in the second half. It was a difficult game. They’re a good team, Liberty is. I think we fought hard and ended on a good note.” Make sure to support the Eagles by coming to the C-Team’s last game on Oct. 30.
