This past cold and foggy Friday night, the Fightin‘ Irish Varsity Football Team battled their way against Terra Nova High School at Kezar Stadium. The stands were filled with students, parents, and alumni as the fog leveled off at the field, making it difficult to see. As the wind started to pick up, the Irish, led by Coach John Lee, started the game with a kick off.
The first quarter began with the Special Teams players racing to tackle the kick returner as he caught the ball. A fumble by the Terra Nova returner was recovered by Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Kelvin Sanders ’13 who ran it in for a touchdown.
The second quarter began with a score of 7-0 with SHCP in the lead. The defense came out strong with a quarterback sack by Mark Singh ’12. Then about two minutes later, the Irish Offense scored a touchdown when quarterback Jack Harrington ’12 threw the ball into the end zone to Matt Hewitson ’13. They did not receive the extra point, but that didn’t stop the cheering section, led by Big Green, from screaming the “I-R-I” cheer as the Irish kicked the ball down the field. Meghan Corbett ’12, a member of Big Green, said, “When the players hear the cheers, I hope they feel the support of the school behind them throughout the whole game.” The SHCP crowd was lively with a score of 13-0. With the tough defense, Terra Nova was forced to punt the ball. However due to a bad snap, the Irish recovered the loose ball at the 9 yard line, a perfect starting position. In less than two minutes, the Irish scored another touchdown as Harrington ran it into the end zone. The Offense stayed on the field as they attempted a 2-point conversion. Although the pass was incomplete, the fans were still celebrating their 19-0 lead. The cheering section started their “Defense, Irish, defense!” cheer when John Morello ’12 sacked the Terra Nova quarterback. The eventful second quarter soon came to an end with the SHC crowd feeling a buzz of joy with their team’s early success.
The third quarter began once both teams came back onto the field being cheered by their respective sides. The game resumed with a Terra Nova kick-off. The Irish found themselves against a wall as they could not get away from their own end zone. Terra Nova’s first points were scored off of a safety, making it 19-2. The parents were a bit upset with the offense, but the game continued. With about three minutes left, Terra Nova scored with a pass, as well as converting the 2-point conversion. The score was now 19-10, and the SHCP cheering section became a little quieter than before. With a minute left to go in the third quarter, the Irish were faced with a 4th and 1 situation on their side of the field. The Offense went for it with a run down the middle, but the referees called it short, and ultimately ruled it Terra Nova’s ball. With about four seconds left, Terra Nova scored again, adding on the extra point to make the score 19-17.
As the fourth quarter was set to start, despair was in the air amongst the Sacred Heart Cathedral fans. Terra Nova had gained 17 unanswered points, and the Irish players seemed to be hanging their heads. All of these feelings were turned around as Valentino Miles ’12 broke out of the pack with a huge run from their side of the field into Terra Nova territory. Fans cheered excitedly as life finally seeped its way into the Irish sidelines. After a couple of plays, Harrington once again ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Irish a 9-point lead with the extra point added on, making the score 26-17. Nearly thirty seconds later, the Terra Nova quarterback threw a well-aimed pass to his wide-receiver. There was contact between the defender and the receiver, resulting in a flag being thrown by the referee nearby. The receiver nonetheless caught the ball, shook off a chasing Irish defender, and ran the ball into the end zone. The Irish cheering section erupted in protest, calling for the touchdown to not count. The referee announced that it was defensive pass interference, which the Terra Nova coach declined. Their quarterback succeeded once again on the 2-point conversion, which made the score 26-25. At that point, the parents were nervous, and the cheering section was silent. With eight minutes to go, the Irish quarterback threw an interception on his side of the field, resulting in a Terra Nova possession. Several plays later, the quarterback would have been sacked by Morello if he hadn’t thrown the ball right in front of himself at the last second. The SHCP fans screamed for an intentional grounding penalty, but the referees did not agree. Terra Nova was forced to punt the ball, but the Irish offense couldn’t get a rhythm going. The quarterback was sacked on 3rd down, resulting in a punt. The clock continued to wind down until there were two minutes and thirty second left when the Terra Nova quarterback evaded several sacks and threw the ball to an open receiver down the field who scored a touchdown. They failed the 2-point conversion, but they were still winning with a score of 26-31. “I thought, ‘Here we go again’,” said Rachel Salinas ’12, an avid football fan. “I love the football team, but they’ve always had a problem finishing a game, especially when they’re winning.” That feeling was mutual with the rest of the fans sitting in the bleachers. Their faces were covered with doubt and worry as the Irish offense took the field.
Their next possession was a crucial one; so when they faced a 4th and 9 situation with two minutes left in the game, they had no choice but to go for it. Harrington once again found Jeivon Parker ’12 to get the 9 yards they needed to keep the drive alive. After a series of plays and time-outs by the Irish Offense, Miles ran with the ball into the end zone for a second time. With that touchdown, the score was now 32-31. They attempted the 2-point conversion but could not score. With one minute left in the game, the Irish Special Teams players lined up for the kick off. Everyone in the SHCP stand was now standing up, their hands raised with their fingers moving, yelling that monotonous chant until the ball was finally kicked. “When everyone is yelling together, you can feel the support of the crowd. Everyone has school spirit; it just takes a Big Green member to start the cheers,” said Corbett. An Irish defender caught up with the ball carrier and tackled him so hard that the carrier somersaulted in the air. The sideline, as well as the crowd, was pumped with energy as Big Green led the “Defense!” chants with the final minute left in the game. The Terra Nova quarterback was successful in completing several 10 yard passes, slowly creeping their way into Irish territory. With thirty seconds left, he pushed his luck as he passed it to the left side of the field. Watching the eyes of the quarterback, defender Viliami Uikilifi ’12 ran and intercepted the ball right in front of the awaiting receiver. He ran with the ball as long as he could until he went out of bounds. The students were cheering loudly, and the parents were jumping up and down on the bleachers. “As I watched, I realized that the touchdown and interception was the football team I knew. They are a great team, and I knew they wouldn’t go down without a fight.” commented Salinas who joined the rest of the crowd in cheering for their team. The Irish offense kept on taking a knee until those final seconds expired. The entire football team ran towards their fans with sweat and joy on their faces as the students ran down the steps to meet their victorious team. “It was a pretty exciting game,” said Mr. Wilson, a SHCP counselor and soccer coach. “They showed a lot of poise at the end.” Congratulations to Coach Lee and his assistant coaches for making this hard-earned victory a possibility, and good luck on the rest of the season.
