It was third and long, late in the fourth quarter of Anzar
High’s first football game, and all the Hawks wanted to do was hang
onto the ball.
Everyone at Barragan Field knew who was getting the ball for the
Hawks – but that didn’t stop the first year team.
San Juan Bautista
It was third and long, late in the fourth quarter of Anzar High’s first football game, and all the Hawks wanted to do was hang onto the ball.
Everyone at Barragan Field knew who was getting the ball for the Hawks – but that didn’t stop the first year team.
Taking the hand-off, the oversized halfback, Jesse Jimenez, bowled toward the line.
Lowering his shoulders and keeping his feet turning, Jimenez bounced off would-be tacklers to fall forward for a nine-year gain and a first down.
As Jimenez lifted himself off the ground and the umpire signaled a first down, the large crowd that circled around the field and bled out of the bleachers erupted with pure joy. Head coach Luis Espinoza jumped and yelled “first down” and the Hawks kept the ball.
It was only the Hawks’ seventh, and last, first down of the game – but don’t tell the Hawks or their fans.
The power run was one of the few football highlights from the Hawks 42-0 loss to Trinity Christian on Friday, but it didn’t matter for the 27 players and hundreds of attendees that filled the bleachers.
Anzar High finally had a football team, and the score didn’t mean anything.
“First game – it was amazing,” team captain and starting center Daniel Modic said. “It’s nice to be back under the lights and having this wonderful crowd support behind us – I’m just really happy.”
He continued, “the score might not have been what we wanted but there is always room for improvement and we are only to get better. There is a first time for everything – it feels great. ”
And the team has a lot of improving to do – but that’s to be expected.
Throughout the game, the Hawks struggled to cover the Trinity passing attack – allowing quarterback Michael Alcaraz to throw for 246 yards and five touchdowns.
Trinity had two pass plays of more than 60 yards during the night. Halfway through the first quarter, Trinity struck for the first of its six touchdowns by throwing a high-rainbow pass into the hands of receiver Vinnie Giacomazi who ran past Hawk defenders.
Because of the Warriors superior speed, Trinity had an easy time getting past the Anzar secondary. But the run defense played superb for Anzar, forcing two fumbles and allowing only 71 yards on the ground.
On offense, the Hawks leaned on their power-running game driven by Jesse Jimenez and the bulky offensive line of Modic, Matthew Yarbrough and Miguel Madrigal. Jimenez ran for 93 bruising-yards on 24 carries. Jimenez’s strong running contributed to the Hawks seven first downs – four of which came on one drive in the third quarter.
Trailing 28-0 in the third quarter – with only 63 total first-half yards – the Hawks put on their only sustained drive of the game. The methodical push relied on the running of Jesse Jimenez, Sam Jimenez and Modic, who ran for 10 yards on six carries.
But it was Jesse Jimenez that served as the heart of the debut Anzar offense.
“He means everything to this offense,” Espinoza said. “He has so much heart to run. He just never stops.”
And it’s that motor that drives the team.
“It keeps them going, keeps the morale going,” he said. “He keeps on running hard and the kids want to block for him.”
In the third quarter, the Hawks slowly crawled forward into Trinity territory before the drive sputtered once they tried to gain yards through the air.
The passing game for Anzar struggled, as quarterback Jeremy Cedeno finished the game completing one pass, on five attempts, for minus three yards. Cedeno rarely had time to set his feet, as the Trinity pass rush flushed the quarterback out of the pocket.
Moving ahead, Espinoza hopes his team remembers the good plays and forgets the bad ones.
“They had fun and that’s the biggest thing,” Espinoza said. “Getting them to remember what are the good things you did and choosing those. That’s why we love football – it’s a short term memory.”
But none of the players or attendees will forget the game anytime soon.
“It was a good feeling, but at the same time I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” defensive back Justin Angulo said. “I was antsy the whole time. I thought about the play and what I had to do and just charged.”
To get over his nerves, Sam Jimenez just needed to hit somebody.
“That was really fun – it was more fun than anything else I’ve done in my entire life,” Sam Jimenez said. “I don’t care what the score was.”
But the most memorable thing for the team will be the fan support, Espinoza said.
“Every little thing we did well people were cheering,” he said. “That’s the community I like – it was awesome. Just to have that energy here. The kids feed off that energy.”
With the entire community behind them, the Hawks will look to improve Sept. 23 against Anchorpoint. The game will be Anzar’s second home game.
“We are taking small steps,” coach Luis Espinoza said. “We are taking them slow, but we are moving forward. Next week we are going to set a goal of coming out here and getting that first touchdown.”
AHS 0 0 0 0 – 0
TCHS 12 16 14 0 – 42
First Quarter
TCHS – Giacomazi 32-yard pass from Alcaraz (conversion failed) 6:07
TCHS – Hill 67-yard pass from Alcaraz (conversion failed) 1:08
Second Quarter
TCHS – HIll 9-yard run (Alcaraz pass for 2 pt. conversion) 4:06
TCHS – Hill 22-yard pass from Alcaraz (Alcaraz pass for 2 pt. conversion) 1:37
Third Quarter
TCHS – Perez with 10-yard pass from Alcaraz (Alcaraz pass for 2 pt. conversion) 6:59
TCHS – Giacomazi 71-yard pass from Alcaraz (conversion failed) 0:05
Fourth Quarter
No score
RUSHING – AHS: Jesse Jimenez 24-93, Sam Jimenez 7-11, Modic 6-10, Cedeno 3- -6, Angulo 2-0, Stofer 1 – -3; TCHS: Hill 8-48, Perez 2-17
PASSING – AHS: Cedeno1-5-0- -3, Stofer 0-1-0-0; Alcaraz 9-16-0-246, 5 TDs
RECEIVING – AHS: May 1- -3; Giacomazi 4-134, Hill 4-103, Perez 1-10
