During last year’s Emery football season, the team seemed destined for greatness. Fueled by the contributions of their seniors, six of whom made an all-state roster, they looked to remain undefeated going into their highly anticipated game against Pasadena First Baptist to end the regular season, and as this game neared its end, the Jags looked ready to hold on for the win. Leading 66-53 with less than a minute left. Then, tragedy struck as they blew the lead within the final minute to lose 69-66. This loss seemed to be the nail in the coffin for the season as the Jags were unable to make it back to the championship like the season prior, losing in the state quarterfinals 46-36.
The Texas High school football writers and analysts responded to the defeat by placing Emery as 20 point underdogs in their home opener against the BVCHEA Homeschool Mustangs, meaning that the writers were expecting them to lose by 20 points or more. Emery junior and starting cornerback Sasha Fiterman responded to being the so-called underdogs by saying that they need to “focus on themselves” rather than what the media is saying. When asked about the new players filling the void left by last year’s seniors, he spoke highly about the newcomers, saying, “I really like what I’ve seen at practice, and the players are adjusting and playing really well … as they gain experience, we are only going to get better.”
Additionally, All-State Linebacker and senior Harrison Zimmermann says that being 20-point underdogs leaves a huge “chip on his shoulder.”
“We continue to be doubted every year,” Zimmermann continues, “but this only pushes us to want to win more.”
Zimmermann is also adamant that the underclassmen are “held to the same standards as everyone else” and “that he is excited for what the rest of the season will bring.”
Emery set the tone immediately, with junior running back Kiran Rao scoring a touchdown on the second play of the game. Although the game was close during the second half, with Emery ahead 22-20, they quickly pulled away, scoring two straight touchdowns and comfortably winning 46-28, blowing expectations out of the water.
Going into the game, Head Coach Samuel Castello was a little skeptical about what the team would look like with so many new faces in the starting lineup saying that he “knew we had some questions with us (with all of the new faces we have)” and also noted that we were going against “a really good team that made the state championship game last year.” And although there was uncertainty, he says he “didn’t pay much attention to the underdog part,” focusing on the team rather than the outside noise. This ultimately resulted in starting the season 1-0, but the team needs to continue the mindset of going “1-0 every week.”
After the game, Zimmermann notes that the team’s success came from “discipline and executing in crucial situations,” and that this week was “a great start to the season.”
Their opening win is just an indication that last year’s defeat will only continue to fuel them for a season that will be surprising to everyone except themselves.
