Sunset Defeats Southridge 45 to 7
By Dillon Bergmann
Cedar Mill, OR. — It was a warm 66 degree night in September, and the stands were packed full with students wearing togas, the clothing worn by those living in the great civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean. These were not the gladiators of old, but the gladiators of today: the Sunset Apollos (1–0) took on the Southridge Skyhawks (0–1) for Sunset’s first home football game of the season.
The game kicked off speedily with many strong runs and catches, yielding the Apollos a fruitful 7 points within the first 2 minutes of the game. This was followed by an even swifter stop by the Skyhawks. The Apollos returned from this swift stop with another fast-paced masterpiece of offense, but not without a sea of yellow penalty flags being thrown their direction. However, notwithstanding the budding romance between the Apollos and the referee’s penalty flags, Caleb Kim carried through to score yet another 7 points. After a bobbling reception of a snap, Sunset stopped Southridge.
The Apollos soon scored 7 more points, led by Caleb Kim with a 20-yard run. Sunset started their defense mirroring Southridge with an illegal procedure penalty of their own, this time on the kickoff. However, this did not impact the proceeding Southridge possession as the opposition failed to advance the ball past midfield. Southridge once more struggled with the punt, gaining another illegal procedure penalty. Following that, Sunset marched foward, causing havoc across Southridge’s own half of the field. However, before the team could reap the fruits of their effort, the quarter ended. Sunset lead 21 to 0.
Sunset then capitalized on their strong first quarter with a new score by Caleb Kim, making the score 28 to 0. Southridge failed to advance past Sunset’s wall and to do legal procedure on a put. Some things are guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and Southridge committing illegal procedures on punts. However, on the return of the punt, Hayden Hurly, the player from Sunset receiving the punt, returned the punt faster than a speeding Siemens Charger for a great return. Southridge could not penetrate Sunset’s wall.
After another score, Sunset rekindled their love affair with the referee’s penalty flags and received several costly penalties. This came with a cost, as offensive linemen Mahmoud Abdelmoneum had sustained an injury, and had to join Connor Burns, who had been injured on the previous possession, on the bench. Sunset was held to all but a field goal attempt. Then as the ball was struck it took flight and a joint gasp rushed throughout the crowd: would the ball make it between the goalposts? With no more than an inch to spare it cleared the goalposts and was in! A cheer roared throughout the stadium as the first half ended with a score of 45 to 0.
During the second half, Southridge made a breakthrough, forcing through Sunset’s wall and breaking into the red zone. Could Southridge score? Southridge crept towards the end zone and did what had seemed unthinkable during the first half: they had seemingly scored! A penalty flag was then raised. The Skyhawks’ first entry into the end zone was then disallowed due to a holding penalty against them.
However, this was not a total loss: with a strong pass Southridge recovered and finally put 7 points on the board. When Southridge scored, their fans — who had been quite loyal all night — cheered so loudly that one who wasn’t aware of the context would think that they had won the game. At this point, many spectators exited the facilities, forming a small human creek. As the score remained static for the rest of the game, the final score was 45 to 7. This win allowed Sunset to extend their undefeated streak, and gave them momentum going into their upcoming home game against the West Linn Lions.
