The Spartans lost 21-14 in MVHS’s Homecoming football game against the Burlingame High School Panthers.
“It was a letdown and we should have come out on top,” senior running back Arturo Hernandez said.
The Spartans quickly took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, with Hernandez rushing in a touchdown. Burlingame then tied the game 7-7 with a touchdown on the following drive.
Neither team gathered a strong offense for the next few drives – the first quarter ended with the game still tied.
Early in the second quarter, the Spartans rallied for a long offensive drive, with an eight yard touchdown thrown by senior quarterback Kevin Conway to senior wide receiver Lex Silver, making the score 14-7. The Panthers bounced back almost immediately, moving the ball down the field with a rushing attack and tying the score at 14-14.
With around three minutes left in the second quarter, the Spartans fumbled and the Panthers recovered the ball with nine seconds left on the clock. Burlingame kneeled the half out, maintaining the same 14-14 score.
At halftime, the winners of MVHS’s homecoming court were announced, and seniors Vanessa Reyes-Perez, Seoyoung Lee, and running back Dillion Daniels were crowned homecoming royalty.
The Panthers received the second half kickoff and started moving down the field before fumbling the ball away to the Spartans.
Following the turnover, Conway took a strong hit, causing the Spartans’ quarterback to throw an interception and temporarily leave the field with an injury.
A controversial call was made when Burlingame kicker Eddie Gill missed a field goal short, and a potential long return by MVHS junior defensive back Amir Ware was called off by the referee.
Due to Conway’s injury, junior Villami Sekona went in as the Spartans’ quarterback before going three and out and punting the ball back to the Panthers. Burlingame then took the lead off a long drive, scoring the last touchdown of the game, making the score at 21-14.
Conway returned to the field in the fourth quarter for MVHS’s last drive of the game, but the Spartans did not gather the momentum needed to score and were forced to punt.
Pressure was now on the Spartans’ defense to stop the Panthers’ rushing offense. However, the Panthers rushed for two first downs, forcing the Spartans to burn through their timeouts, losing the game with a final score of 21-14.
“They outplayed us tonight,” head coach Tim Lugo said, “And they deserved to win.”
