Friday night, Hamilton played the homecoming game and its very last football game on the current field before it is torn down. Heading into the game, Hamilton was at a disadvantage with a record of 2-5, and Fairfax seemingly had the upper hand with a 5-2 record. Looking ahead to the game, team captain #7 Jerome McClendon said, “I feel like we need to bring that spark we have as a team to the game so we can really work together the best.” #0 William Glettner shared how the team prepared for Fairfax specifically, explaining how they had “watched film on them and seen how each player works together so we know how to win as a team.”
During the first quarter of the game, anticipation was high and the boys started off rocky. The team wanted to go deep on their first play, but things did not go as planned because of an unexpected play on the ball from Fairfax. Although the Yankees couldn’t make their first play, they had a turn of events right afterward by running the ball toward the red zone, with #6 Andrew Tyars and #4 Dylan Franklin working together. After that, though, the team had difficulties keeping the momentum from the last play. They ended up successfully making a field goal, making their first 3 points of the game. After their field goal, Fairfax had possession of the ball and started driving the ball toward their end zone.
In the second quarter, Fairfax did a mix of rushing and receiving to get to the red zone and score a touchdown. After the play, Hamilton had an amazing drive going, but after multiple mistakes, they ended up having to punt the ball. After that, #4 Franklin had a sack on the drive and tackle to gain two yards. After this, the boys rushed the ball for a few plays and then the ball was thrown to #3 Gino Oneal, who received it at the 10-yard line, slowly but surely getting closer to the end zone.
The Yankees then ran the ball to the 7-yard line, and on the next play, Fairfax tackled the quarterback #5 Luke Harwell. Following that ,#9 Aiden Partida made his second field goal, putting Hami back on the map with a score of 6-7. Strong safety #3 Oneal then got into an altercation with the Fairfax quarterback after the play ended and both teams were going back to their huddles. Pushes were shoved, words were exchanged, and even fists were swung. Both teams rushed each other and a full altercation ensued, forcing coaches and refs to break it up.
Following halftime, the third quarter began and the boys started strong on defense. They ended up getting the ball back from a punt and going into offense. From there, our quarterback threw from Fairfax’s 35-yard line to our wide receiver at our own 30-yard line and #3 Oneal made an amazing touchdown, putting Hami up 14-7.
During a play-action #13 Dereon Rios did a drag across the field and got open in the end zone, catching the ball, and giving Hami another touchdown. At this point, the Hami stands were on an adrenaline rush, and before we knew it the next play was already in action. Fairfax was driving the ball down the field and we had an important stop for the game when one of our receivers #7 McClendon ran the ball for a 30-yard run not once but twice before the quarter ended.
Starting the fourth quarter on a good note, our running back #6 Tyars ran the ball for 20 yards to put us in a good position down the field. Following that, our other running back #1 Malykai Alexander gained the team about 10 more yards. A few plays later, the quarterback threw the ball deep, and with one hand #3 Oneal made an amazing touchdown, sending our bleachers into a roar. From there the Yanks kicked the ball to Fairfax, but quickly got the ball back and started to run the ball to run down the clock.
In an unexpected turn of events, the boys ended up fumbling the ball, and Fairfax had the opportunity to score. Swiftly after, Fairfax ended up fumbling the ball themselves and giving the ball immediately back to the Yanks. After that, the Yankees proceeded to run the clock out and brought Hamilton a beautiful win, with the final score 27-7.
After the game, team captain #77 Dylan Lewis (Big Dyl) said, “I feel great man. We just came up from a losing streak.” He reflected on what future games can lead to, saying, “Of course, of course, you always got to have faith man, got to believe in yourself, in your family, and in your teammates.”
