Aidan Kasten
Coming off a blowout win against Piedmont High School in their last game, the Aragon Dons football team (3-1) hosted the Los Altos High School Eagles (2-1) for their homecoming game on Sept. 25. Although the team lost 28-21, head coach Ash Parham noted the team’s energy coming into the game.
“[We were] definitely excited about the win [against Piedmont],” Parham said. “It was probably our best, most complete performance as a team so far this year. Just kind of building on that and finishing the first half of the season.”
The team started their night strong by driving down near the 30 yard line, powered by a 46 yard catch from junior wide receiver Gabe Wilcox. Aragon’s offense couldn’t put points on the board though, and senior quarterback Isaiah Johnson threw an interception on a tipped pass, and Los Altos took the ball all the way back for a touchdown.
Johnson and the team bounced back as they drove down the field fueled by a big reception from sophomore wide receiver Ben Henderson. This time the Dons were able to run it in as sophomore running back Mikey Alvarado-Corzo ran it in for Aragon’s first touchdown of the game.
“Just because I made those few mistakes, it doesn’t determine who I am and what I need to do,” Johnson said. “So sometimes I just sit down, think, come back, focus and just overall get better at what I do, take it play-by-play and always just stay calm and collected.”
After the game, Henderson highlighted how the team helped him play well and make big receptions.
“I had a few good plays,” Henderson said. ”It starts on the [offensive] line, they’ve got to hold up, especially on pass plays. Everyone just has to do their job, and if they do, then we’ll be more successful.”
After the touchdown, the Dons went for a two point conversion to try to take the lead, but Alvarado-Corzo was stopped and the Dons couldn’t deliver. After this, Los Altos drove down the field quickly to score their second touchdown of the day. On the Dons’ next drive, a bad snap caused a turnover on 4th down.
“We moved the ball well, and then we had a turnover that led to a touchdown for the other team and our energy was anxious for the rest of the game,” Parham said. Aragon struggled on the next two drives as Los Altos’s quarterback made a good play for a touchdown pass on fourth-and-11, while the Dons couldn’t convert on 4th down themselves. Even so, a 12 yard sack from senior safety Isaac Martinez helped the Dons get the ball back.
“Defense is really what gets me going, but after a sack we’re all hyped,” Martinez said. “I think it’s a chemistry type thing, and we all rely on each other.”
During the last drive of the half, the Dons and Johnson battled to get into field goal range, but they couldn’t as time expired with Aragon near the 40 yard line and the first half finished with the Dons down 21-6.
The Dons started the second half strong by forcing a punt, but they made mistakes, as Johnson threw his second interception of the night.
The Dons battled back in the second half with touchdowns from Wilcox and senior and wide receiver Everest Lavery, but it wasn’t enough as the Dons failed to recover an onside kick and lost the game 28-21.
After the loss, Parham highlighted some positives in the team’s play.
“We outgained our opponent by about 350 yards,” Parham said. “We did well offensively and pretty well defensively.”
Johnson also highlighted some things he believes the team needs to do better.
“Staying together as one andcommunicating [better],” Johnson said. “We [need to] stay focused and not get too cocky, not get too over confident that we could beat them. We need to stop overlooking teams a lot.”
The Dons next game will be against Milpitas High School in a league matchup on Oct. 16.
