Written By: Arianna Elizarraraz & Stephanie Rios
Photos By: Arianna Elizarraraz & Stephanie Rios
Family has been perceived as people who live together and are connected by blood yet the freshman football team has shown us a new perspective on the word family.
Shakil James, Sophomore, Player #3, Corner, said “everyone is somewhat of competition but in a good way, to attain the best version of themselves.” He feels lots of pressure school wise, he feels the pressure building up to have the grades that he needs to be eligible to play. Shakil wants to play football long term as well as get a football ride straight to Alabama University. His pre-game steps are to watch NFL highlights and see his mom and teammates in the bleachers supporting him. A quote that keeps Shakil motivated is “I want to create my own level of fame!”
Rey Cervantes, Freshman, Player #15, Tight-End, feels he has no competition on his
own team because they are all talented in their own way. He feels the pressure of maintaining a 2.0+ GPA. Cervantes wants to pursue this after high school and go big. His motivation is his family, seeing them in the stands keeps him going, even though he gets nervous he pulls through it with motivational speeches. A quote that keeps Rey motivated is “Remember my name”.
Jamari Brown, Sophomore, Player #5 Q.B (quarterback), doesn’t think he has competition on the team. Brown doesn't feel like football affects his education but he does have expectations for himself such as having a 4.0 by the end of the school year. Jamari’s pregame thoughts are “anything is possible'' and he takes inspiration from his uncle Antonio Brown (NFL Wide Receiver). His support is Coach Jason. He would like to play long term and play for the North Carolina Football team. A quote that keeps Jamari motivated “Anything is possible.”
Jayden Jackson, Freshman, Player #2, Wide Receiver, doesn't feel much pressure
education wise but he does feel like he has friendly competition on the team, Marcus Brown. Jackson doesn't have any personal expectations but does take inspiration from Alonzo Brown. He gets ready for a game by listening to YoungBoy. He sees football as a long term thing and plans on playing college football, but he doesn't have his eye on any at the moment. A quote that keeps Jayden motivated is “Be great”.
Marcus Brown, Freshman, Player #1, “everything”/ Wide Receiver, feels like there’s somewhat of a competition on his team, his friendly competition is Jayden Jackson. He doesn't usually feel pressured but he does have expectations for himself, he wants to get on the same level as his brother. He gets his inspiration from Alonzo Brown. His main focus before a game is to not get hurt and see his mom supporting him. He plans to pursue this after high school and sees it as a long term thing. The quote “Stay ready don’t gotta get ready” by Will Smith keeps Marcus Motivated.
Bernardo Blanco, Freshman, Player #55, Defensive Line (DN), feels the competition on the team is Rapi and Rey. He has certain expectations for himself such as making it to varsity and he feels a lot of pressure and overall thinks it's hard. He sees this as a long term thing and his pre game prep consists of listening to music and seeing his parents supporting him. The quote “ Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present” by Eleanor Roosevelt, keeps Bernardo motivated.
Jonathan Macias, Sophomore, Player #70, Defensive End, says he doesn't really feel
pressured but he does have high expectations of himself, like doing better in math and eventually playing for varsity. Macias’ pre-game prep is listening/watching Ray Lewis inspirational videos and he tells himself to own the field. Jonathan looks forward to seeing his dad sitting out on the bleachers and supporting him. The quote “Never put off what can be done today for tomorrow” by Benjamin Franklin keeps Jonathan motivated.
Nathaniel Meza, Freshman, Player #13, Kicker, says he doesn't feel any competition on his own team. He feels pressure education wise. Though he says he doesn't see football as a long term thing, he wants to make the best out of it and enjoy it while he can. His pregame thoughts are to win, he is definitely in it to win it. A quote that keeps Nathaniel motivated is “Don't quit”.
Matthew Caldwell, Sophomore, Player #19, Linebacker, believes he has no competition at the time, he doesn't feel too pressured either. Caldwell sees football as a long term thing and would like to continue playing after high school. He takes inspiration from Ray Lewis and his support is his dad and (bubba) Marcus. A quote that keeps Mathew motivated is “Get good Like me”.
Rapi Avei, Sophomore, Fullback, feels his competition is Branch Moelani. Rapi feels pressure from school to keep grades up from the amount of work. Avei sees this as a long term thing but doesn’t have a preferred team to play for. His family is there to support him and he takes inspiration from his brother. A quote that keeps Rapi motivated is “Do better today and be great tomorrow” .
Andrew De La Cruz, Player #21, Wide Receiver (injured), sees football as a long term thing, he’s been playing since kindergarten and would like to make a career out of it. Andrew’s future plans consist of playing for LSU Football. He likes to think there is no competition and thinks they get along for the most part. His support system is family and friends and he looks up to Tyreek Hill W.R. Scripture from John 13:7 New Living Translation (NLT) “ You don’t understand now what I am doing but one day you will.” keeps Andrew motivated.
Coach Paul Hennison, Coach sees potential in everyone; some of the people he thinks have been really putting in the effort into showing their potential are Jayden Jackson, Benardo Blanco, Shakil James, Jamari and Marcus Brown. He has certain expectations for his players. He expects them to have over a 2.0 GPA, and if they don't get it, then the guys have to find a way to get it up. Football wise he expects them to give it everything they've got. Paul thinks it is healthy to have some friendly competition, from Line-men to Running Backs and Wide Receivers “they all have to be better than the next guy”. Coach would like to see them succeed and play long term but he knows that some of his guys don’t see it as such. Coach Paul keeps supporting them regardless of what decision they make. He feels their biggest competitor is Kaiser HS. Hennison is pretty sure they will win championships. The quote that keeps Coach Paul Hennison motivate is “Life is a trip so keep your bags packed”.
We’d like to give an honorable mention to Victor Vasquez aka SKOOTER and a big thank you to the entire freshman football team for making this article happen. We couldn't have done it without you!
