The Sea Hawk Bowl was flooded in red for the first football game of the season. Similar to last year, the team dominated Long Beach Wilson, finishing the game 35-0. The opening home game win was apparent by the Sea Hawk’s crushing defense and running game, which shut down the Bruins.
Rushing 117 yards and having 15 carries, senior running back Roman Broughton scored two touchdowns in the game, putting the team at 28-0 lead just after halftime.
In the first half, the team advanced 95 yards on 12 plays, and with their jumbo pack in, senior safety Colin Kelly was able to run in the second touchdown. Kelly believes that defensively the team tackled well, staying “aggressive.”
“It was our first game, so we kind of stuck to the basics or basic information and plays. Our biggest goal was to go out and give it our best effort,” Kelly said.
Not long after, junior safety Zeke Johnson stripped the ball from the Bruin’s receiver on the third play in the second half, taking it to the 4th-yard line and setting up Broughton to score in the next play.
“That was my favorite play of the game; I was super happy, a little surprised, but super hyped up. It felt really good, especially with the whole flock cheering,” Johnson said.
Johnson is excited to have started the season with a win, but credits the outcome to the comradery and effort of each player. “Our team is only functional when we’re all doing our job. If one person messes up, it’s going to affect the whole time, but when everyone does their job and does what we’re supposed to do, we will win a lot of games,” Johnson said.
Senior cornerback Erick Espinoza contributed to the Sea Hawk’s crushing defense with three solo tackles but attributes junior quarterback Nicolas London and the offense.
“Our offense really turned up. London was getting there. Our running backs were running everything,” said Espinoza.
With a new lineup, Johnson believes their preparation was the biggest contributor to their win. The team has been practicing since the spring, and the week before, they studied and practiced the Bruins’ plays.
To honor the first home game Head Hawk Caden Wylie, prepared by making flyers and posters and ordering the balloons and pom poms to pass out..
“I was excited to set a good tone early because the football season is long. It’s really important to get the energy going for football because it bleeds into other sports and all the way through the year,” Wylie said.
Wylie states that he is eager to get back on home turf, especially with big games like homecoming and Costa ahead.
“I’m just excited to show the rest of LA County what the flock is made of. The flock feeds into the school’s culture and brings a feeling of togetherness to everybody regardless of your grade or niche,” Wylie said.
The Sea Hawks play next at Paramount High School on Friday, Sept. 15, determined for another win.
“It was great [that we won], but we expected to beat this team. I’m happy our team is doing even better than we did last year,” Johnson said. “We’re going to work on [next game], Long Beach Wilson’s behind us.”
