Football: Falcons lose first league game at home to Gunn

Junior wide receiver Kelly Huesby chest-bumped senior quarterback Payton Stokes after he hauled in a touchdown reception in the second quarter, tying the game at 7-7 against the Gunn Titans last Friday night. 

This would be the closest the Falcons got to leading in the home league game, with the Titans scoring 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and putting the game out of reach for the Falcons. The Falcon offense managed only 163 passing yards, the lowest of the season, and despite scoring two rushing touchdowns, the running game failed to gain much traction until late in the game. The final score was 35-21.

“It was not a particularly hard matchup, but we made too many mistakes on offense,” senior wide receiver George Bian said. He pointed to the three turnovers the team had as something to correct in upcoming games.

The defense struggled to get needed stops during the game. On a third-and-15 in the third quarter, the Titans ran a simple draw play up the middle and ended up gaining 20 yards, a key moment in a drive that led to a touchdown

“There were a lot of missed assignments during that game,” senior defensive end Tyler Ouchida said. “We need to stay focused throughout the entire game and work on our communication.”

Although the loss was disappointing, it has not soured the season for the Falcons. After a convincing 42-27 away win at Monta Vista on Oct. 4 and a 56-35 Homecoming win against Homestead on Sept. 27, the squad is 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the El Camino division.  They are in a three-way tie for first in league with Homestead and Los Altos as they enjoy a bye week this weekend. 

“I’m happy with our performance against both Homestead and Monta Vista,” Bian said. “Both of those games were close up until the fourth quarter, when we were able to pull away. I think that shows a lot about our team to be able to win games in the fourth quarter like that.”

The Falcons have three games left in the regular season, matchups against 3-4 Los Altos on Oct. 25, 1-5 Lynbrook on Nov. 1, and 2-4 Cupertino on Nov. 8. They are looking to continue to build on the offensive efficiency and aggressive defense that has helped them win so many games this year. 

“I think we should have a strong finish to the season because we have built up a lot of momentum from all of our wins,” Ouchida said. “There is a lot of positive energy and we are constantly improving.”

The team has stayed relatively healthy, and they are hoping to win out on their way to making CCS.

“We are going to dominate during these final three games and ride the momentum into CCS to hopefully make a deep run and even win it all,” Bian said.