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Picture by Inderpreet Laly

   The Rebels football season has begun with the home opener against Sultana. The Rebels, who had a disappointing season last year, are trying to rid themselves of the memory by winning Golden League. The students at Quartz Hill are eagerly waiting for the team to make the playoffs, and the game against Sultana was a glimpse at what this football year can be for the Rebels.

   The varsity game took place Friday with overwhelming support from ASB, as the team had a student section chanting and keeping the momentum on the Rebels’ side. The game began slowly with no team scoring in the first quarter. Both teams were struggling offensively on third down conversions.

   In the second quarter, Rebel star quarterback and linebacker Matthew Tago scored a touchdown with a quarterback scramble. While sprinting towards the end zone, Tago had been caught by three defenders trying to stop him and bring him down. Somehow, the junior quarterback used his strength and powered through all three of them, giving the Rebels the lead of 7-0. After the game, Tago spoke about what he witnessed on the field during that play. He stated, “I saw a few people and just put my head down and felt like Marshawn Lynch.” After this play, the Rebels had all the momentum until Sultana scored their own touchdown to tie it up at 7-7.

   After halftime, the Rebels came out with a sense of urgency. Senior running back Manny Thomas put the offense on his back and scored two touchdowns. Thomas explained after the game, “When we were in the locker room, everybody looked at me being a senior and needed me to perform so I did that, but it was not just me. I would not have been able to score touchdowns without the blocking by my teammates. We are a family; we always help one another to win.”

   With the Rebels taking a 20-7 lead, it looked clear that they would come out victorious. In the fourth quarter, Sultana made a push to score, coming up with a touchdown and making the score 20-13 with the Rebels still up. Having the ball with less than two minutes left, Quartz Hill ran the clock and came up with a 20-13 victory.

   After the game, Thomas spoke about his performance. “I thought I did decent, but it is a process. There are baby steps to it. We are gonna go back this week to practice and get better as a team.” Tago also graded his players’ performance: “Today, I say, as a team, it was a high B because we came out really sloppy in the beginning of the game but finished real strong.”

The Quartz Hill High School Football team won against Sultana and showed a glimpse of what we should expect from our football players this year. For the Rebels’ football team, this was not just any ordinary win; this was a victory that will help give them momentum against Oxnard on Friday, September 2.