SBHS Football Teams Navigate Adversity Head-On

It was a rocky year for Dons football as they finished 5th in the Channel League with a 4-6 record overall. This was largely due to the loss of quarterback Griffin Arnold halfway through the season which sent shock waves throughout the entire SBHS community. When asked his thoughts on the year Head Coach Nate Mendoza said, “I thought the boys fought all the way through game ten, we ran into some big adversity in the middle of the year losing our quarterback so that was rough on the boys but they never stopped playing hard.” He continued, saying, “ I don’t think we were happy with the finish but the boys gave effort all the way until the end.” However, it wasn’t all bleak for the Dons as they still managed to blow rivals San Marcos and Dos Pueblos out of the water with 60-0 and 44-7 victories. In addition to this, seniors Malachi Johnston and Monty Lopez signed with Cal Poly and Cal Lutheran to continue their football careers at the collegiate level. Looking towards next year, Coach Mendoza said, “I hope to have a better season, we’re bringing back a lot of returners so it should be an exciting year. Our quarterback beat cancer which is an amazing feat and I know he’s hungry to get out there.”

In addition to the boys, girls flag football enjoyed moderate success this year, finishing with an overall record of 7-14 and placing 7th in the Channel League. Head Coach Travis Menach said, “It was a fun season, I don’t think we won as many games as we’d hoped but it was a great group and I think we grew a lot and made a lot of positive progress.” Looking ahead, Coach Menach said, “next year I have big ideas, I hope we do really well…we’re in somewhat of a new league and it’s a little bit more competitively balanced so I think we’ll find some more success on the season.” Although they had their ups and downs this season, the SBHS football teams are ready for success next year.