On Saturday, Sep. 21, the Archie Williams varsity football team faced off against the Concord High School Bears in a rough game. The Falcons played on their home turf but, despite the crowd’s support, they fell short to the Bears with a final score of 14-45.
The Bears’ offense came out strong in the first quarter. Concord showed their offensive strength on the opening drive by driving the ball down the field and scoring a touchdown. However, the Falcons blocked the extra point attempt, keeping the score to 0-6.
The Falcons’ opening drive stopped short, forcing a punt after they only managed four plays. With a 25-yard rush in the second quarter, Concord continued to capitalize off their high energy and got a first down at the 27-yard line. With a touchdown and two-point conversion, they maintained momentum and brought the score to 0-14.
After a successful passing play by the Falcons to convert a first down, the Bears regained momentum by intercepting the ball. Concord scored another touchdown and converted a two-point attempt to increase their lead to 0-22, despite receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct on fourth down due to taunting.
Concord nearly stayed in control through the first half, boosted by their run game, aggressive attacks and solid defense. Halftime saw the score at 7-30 after a return by Archie Williams senior Gianni Testa and a diving touchdown with 20 seconds remaining.
“In the first half, I felt like the game was okay. Archie [Williams] started off really slow. [Our] defense wasn’t making the best of tackles, but the energy in the crowd was really high,” said Archie Williams freshman spectator Phin Murphy.
Archie Williams applied pressure on defense to start off the second half, and a false start penalty left the Bears facing a difficult fourth down. However, Concord converted the fourth down and regained their momentum with another touchdown. The Bears quarterback connecting with Concord’s Aaron Mediac Jr. in the end zone extended their lead to 7-38.
The Falcons kept moving the chains, getting the ball to the 50-yard line and converting a few successful throws to get another first down. A huge fumble stopped their momentum, and the Bears refused to relent, setting up shop on the 10-yard line before the start of the third quarter.
The Bears sealed their dominance in the fourth quarter with a rushing touchdown, pushing the score to 45-7. Despite facing multiple penalties, Archie Williams remained composed, connecting with their receivers for key first downs. Junior Quarterback Ronan Foley made an impressive run before tossing a touchdown pass, bringing the score to 14-45 as the Falcons managed to find the end zone late in the game.
Despite the late-game improvement, Archie Williams varsity football head coach Anthony Jackson feels the Falcons weren’t playing to their full potential.
“A lot of things didn’t happen the way that we thought they would. Just making little mental mistakes on our own part, our game plan was solid. We just need to execute a little bit better,” Jackson said.
Archie Williams aims to bounce back against Novato High School for their homecoming game Saturday, Sept. 28.
“We got to put this one in the drawer and move on and play next week, gotta go back to work. Keep working hard. Just keep going,” said Archie Williams parent and spectator Corey Carroll.
