PHOTO/ Lexi Wang The varsity football team jogged onto the field for their preseason opener at home against Mark Keppel High School on Aug. 25. The Rams won with a score of 54-0, starting off the season with a 1-0 record.
2022-2023 football season
The football team kicked off their first preseason game on Aug. 25 at home against Mark Keppel High School. The Rams won with a score of 54-0, their first win in two years.
“We came out ready and prepared,” senior Isaiah Douglas said. “We worked extremely hard over the summer and knew that we were not going to lose. Our team came out with a good mindset.”
The Rams lost their second game of the preseason against Alhambra High School but won the following game against the Mountain View Vikings on Sept. 9.
Junior quarterback Jake Jones was named the San Gabriel Valley boy’s athlete of the week after his performance against the Vikings. Jones threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Rams to their second win of the preseason.
Their fourth game against Herbert Hoover High School ended in a 19-14 loss. The Rams lost 49-12 to San Gabriel High School on Sept. 23, closing their preseason with a 2-3 record.
With their preseason performance, the team expects to make a run in league this year. Head coach Riley Saxon stresses the importance of connection and energy within this family.
“I love football and the kids love football,” Saxon said. “It’s the skills and the mindsets that they get from football that they can apply to their life beyond high school, beyond football and beyond their normal routine.”
The team will play their first league game on Sept. 30 at Polytechnic School in Pasadena.
New coaches
With the start of the new school year, the athletic department hired new coaches for the upcoming fall and winter seasons.
The football team brought back coach Riley Saxon after the leave of head coach Laron Johnson. Saxon carries years of coaching experience that he hopes to utilize to bring his team to their full potential.
Max Oronia and Nathan Yu are the new boys varsity soccer and girls varsity volleyball coaches, respectively.
“There was the idea that we would compete for a league championship and that’s probably still the goal, it’s just going to be a lot harder,” Yu said. “So the key now is to be competitive, learn to do things right and ultimately just put up a good product.”
Lyle Takeshita is the new head coach for the boys varsity basketball team after the resignation of the previous head coach, Ted Nuguid. Last season, Takeshita coached the girls varsity basketball team, making history as he led them to the first CIF championship in the program’s history. Tyler Polk now fills the head coaching position for the girls varsity basketball team.
“This is new to me, being a head coach for the first time,” Polk said. “But I’m very confident in the girls’ game of basketball. Some people might think getting a ring is out of our reach. However, with the girls that we have, I definitely think that we can do it.”