On Wednesday August 31, Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) Varsity football team hopped on the team bus and headed to the golden city of San Francisco. The trip lasted a few days and was planned around their game against Sequoia High school (SHS) on Friday Sept. 2. 

The game started off with BVH making a touchdown in the first quarter, leading 7-0. The second quarter started off strong: SHS made their first touchdown and tied the game 7-7. Both teams continued to fight hard coming into the second half; neither team scored in the third quarter. However, the fourth quarter came around and unfortunately for the Barons, SHS scored during the last few minutes and ended the game 14-7.

“We fought pretty hard but we lost towards the end by a touchdown that the other team made in the fourth quarter,” BVH senior and varsity cornerback David Kabongo said.

To prepare for the game, the football team did their normal practice routine and worked throughout the beginning week. It was explained by players and BVH Head football coach Tyler Arciaga that they all pushed each other and watched film from SHS’ first season games to strategize.

“Our team was just practicing hard the whole week just making sure we left it all out on the field every chance we got. We just wanted to push one another to make sure we could be satisfied with the best possible outcome for the team,” BVH senior and varsity running back/outside linebacker Bryan Burt said.

Traveling to a different city approximately seven hours away requires prior planning and scheduling for a bus, a hotel, food expenses and leisurely places to travel in their free time. Arciaga explains how this process was and how he was able to coordinate the trip for the team.

“Logistically when you try to plan events and food for 65 people, there is a lot of planning to make sure that things are accommodated,” Arciaga said. “It includes how you eat, how you travel, how you go on to Alcatraz, how you go to Stanford football games, etc. I think the whole trip had to be tightly coordinated in order for it to run as smoothly as it did.”

Besides the game itself, the football team explored different places around San Francisco including Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. They also watched the Stanford vs Colgate college football game and much more. Through these adventures, the team was able to do some team bonding and get closer to each other.

“During the trip we went to a lot of places so we could get to know each other a little better. We went to Alcatraz which was my and some of my teammates’ favorite place that we visited,” Kabongo said.

Despite the trip being an expensive process and requiring a lot of effort in preparing for it, Arciaga explains that there is a big benefit to having the players travel with each other. The players got to experience what it is like going against a team that they aren’t familiar with from a non-local place.

“Having the ability to play in a different city creates a cultural awareness–being able to work with other people and everything else. Solely, the trip is to give the players an experience other than just playing local football games,” Arciaga said.

Regardless of the team’s loss, Burt explains how he wants to use this experience playing different teams to grow and improve based on BVH’s earlier mistakes.

“Although it was a fun trip, we need to push each other even harder. I want to pass the limits expected of us to make sure we come back and become a better unit and team,” Burt said.