Varsity football plays season opener vs. Overfelt

The Harker Varsity Football team lost their season opener 21-38 against Overfelt at Davis Field last night.

Overfelt held the Eagles scoreless for the first half to maintain 30-point lead. Harker then rebounded with all three touchdowns in the second half, two of which occurred in the last ten minutes of the game.

In the opinion of captain Sidhart Krishnamurthi (12), the team’s comeback was attributable to them letting the first half of the game go and starting with a new mindset.

“I think that we just pretended the score was 0-0 and came out with more confidence in our system and each other [than before],” said Sidhart.

The three touchdowns were scored by Nate Kelly (9), Christian Williams (12), and Keanu Forbes (12), along with an extra point from kicker, Alyssa Amick (12).

Halfway through 3rd quarter, Nate Kelly scored a touchdown and the team succeeded in an attempt at a two-point conversion to bring the score to 8-30.

Overfelt quickly responded with another eight points. The Eagles pulled out two more touchdowns in the last quarter of the game, narrowing Overfelt’s lead. Wide receiver Christian Williams scored late in the fourth quarter, followed by quarterback Keanu Forbes who rushed the final touchdown with 53 seconds left in the game.

This season’s roster has 40 players, allowing the team to return to league play and regulation football, as compared to last year’s 9-man games. Due to injuries and a low turnout, the 2013 roster did not have enough healthy players to compete in the regular league with eleven players on the field.

In an effort to strengthen Harker’s football program, a large portion of this season’s roster is made up of new players. According to maxpreps, 28 of the 44 players on the roster are underclassmen. A lot of expectation surrounds this new team, as a result of the tremendous rebuilding of Harker’s football program that has gone on over the past year.

Williams says the loss resulted from the team’s relative inexperience but is excited by the outcome of the second half.

Quarterback Forbes shared a similar hope for upcoming games. “We just have to execute more because we had a lot of mistakes that cost us the game, so if we just capitalize and get better, then we will win more games,” Forbes said.

Despite the loss, the game had a large turnout. The stands were nearly completely filled with green and white clad members of the Harker community including students, families, and faculty, while Overfelt supporters filled only a quarter of the bleachers designated to the opposing team.

Senior Laya Indukuri was among the crowd of supporters watching the game last night.

“I came out to support my friends and the whole team. Even though we lost, I think that Harker’s football program is making a step in the right direction,” she said. “I also think it was really great to see that so many people came to help cheer them on.”

The Varsity Cheer team also performed a spirited routine during halftime.

The team’s next game is at Del Mar High School on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.