The students of SVHS had been anticipating the Justin Siena matchup for the grand Homecoming football game throughout the week. The stands were filled far before the game began, and everyone was decked out in pink attire for Breast Cancer Awareness. The rivalry between these two schools brought the largest turnout of the football season, and there was an overwhelming amount of excitement in the air.
Sonoma and Justin-siena’s competitiveness has always been light-hearted, but both sides will always want to beat one another. Many students at Sonoma can name another student at Justin-Siena, and these connections make for rivals when it comes to sports. Genevieve Smith, senior and sports videographer says “…we need someone to be rivals with, might as well be them.”
Beginning on a high note, Sonoma’s senior quarterback Trent Ohman threw a 40-yard pass to junior Hudson Giarritta for an immediate touchdown. This first play sent the crowd into an electric frenzy, and the classic rivalry cheers began emanating from the stands. These roaring chants commented on Justin Siena’s “rich and preppy” stereotype by yelling “Daddy’s Money!” throughout the game.
Countless students took school spirit to another level with homemade signs saying “GET LOUD or GET OUT” and “I Believe We Will Win!” SVHS’s cheerleaders brought a lot of fire as well and were able to continue pumping up the jam-packed student section. Students expressed their enjoyment of the pink-out theme, including Hennessy Hernandez, sophomore, saying “I like pink-out, it’s fun. Everyone goes all out on it!”
As time was ticking, the crowd was anticipating a miracle touchdown with the score 21-31. Fortunately, senior Max Harrison clutches Ohman’s second 40-yard throw mid-air to tighten the score at 27-31. He then makes a successful field goal to bring the game to 28-31, and also brings a wave of hope to the student section.
Despite the emotion of the crowd and the grit of the players, SVHS took a close loss with the final score being 28-31 in one of the most important games of the season.
