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By Cherry Manoonsilpa
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Jan. 7, 2009 |
“History is doomed to repeat itself.”
The Cardinals end this season in the same place as last year;denied their spot at Turkey Day, watching Lincoln parade their way totheir fourth consecutive city championship.
On Nov. 20, the Cardinals suffered an all-too familiar defeatagainst the Mustangs in a critical playoff game. The team came into thegame with high hopes that they would be able to merge victorious.“Since the last game was so close, we were confident that after a weekof good practice we’d be able to fix our mistakes,” senior wingbackWang Han said. The team was unable to keep up with the defending citychampions and was harshly defeated 27-8.
“When there were plays we had to make, we didn’t capitalize onthem,” said senior Shant Siyahian. “We didn’t score that one drivewhere we could have tied the score, but we lost momentum after that.”
On Nov. 13, in the Cardinal’s last game before playoffs began, theyfaced off against Lincoln and were closely defeated 20-14, the winningtouchdown coming in overtime.
While Lincoln trampled the Cardinals in last year’s meeting, Lowellshowed a tremendous comeback for this time around, pushing their waydown the field to end the half with a tie of 6-6. Both teams playedtremendous defense, another deadlock set by a 15-yard pass made byjunior quarterback Ryan Louie to senior wide-receiver Nathaniel Banks.After the score, Han followed with a two point conversion to even thescore 14-14. In the last two seconds of the game, the Cardinals gainedpossession and Louie attempted an option pitch to Han, but the pitchwent awry and Mustang cornerback Devon Marman caught the fumble andsprinted 49 yards to end the game 20-14.
“Overall, the end results were not what we had hoped for,” saidsenior offensive linemen Ian Maguire. “But everyone grew in a positiveway.”
The Cardinals have already begun planning for next season. “Duringour team meeting we discussed who would play each position next year,about making Turkey Day, and about different formations and how theywould affect the games.”
MVP
Though the Cardinals have been showcasing multiple differenttalents on the field this season, one exceptional player has gone thedistance and led the team in many of its victories: senior wingbackWang Han.
“Wang was a great source of offense,” Siyahian said. “It was niceto see him step up and take advantage after not getting much playingtime as an underclassmen.”
Han has shown exceptional skill and speed throughout the season,ranking a total of fourteen touchdowns total. “My natural ability certainlyhelps, but I would be nowhere without my teammates and coaches,” Hansaid.
“Since I began playing football as a freshman, I’ve been taught thevalue of hard work and determination,” said Han. “I’ve made invaluablefriends that I’ll probably have for the rest of my life, and I wouldlike to thank all my offensive linemen and other backs.”
Han’s future is currently undecided, but he says that he hopes toplay football in college if he is given the chance. But for now, Hanwill be once again showcasing his speed later this year during thetrack season. |
