![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Varsity football wins with last minute touchdown
The team celebrates after Keanu Forbes (12) scores the winning touchdown. Keanu’s earlier fumble recovery on defense helped the team’s close victory.
The score now stands 25-28. The score board declares in fluorescent orange that the game has one minute and six seconds left. The crowd sits on the edge of their seats as quarterback Keanu Forbes (12) darts forward, ball in hand, and dives into the end zone. The game-winning touchdown.
The varsity football team won its third game of the season 31-28 against California School for the Deaf yesterday night.
In the first quarter, Harker was down 21 to nothing. By halftime, the Eagles made three touchdowns in a row, bringing the score to 22-21.
“Previously during the year we’ve had some games in that same situation,” Head Coach Ron Forbes said. “In that situation, they sort of lost their confidence, and the other team ran away with it. Tonight I was really, really proud of them. They hung in there, and we had a one-point lead going into halftime. That gave them the confidence they needed to come out during the second half and just put it away. It was awesome.”
Players noted that the team’s performance seemed stronger than in previous games.
“The team that we played came into the game ranked almost 300 spots higher than us, and we upset them.” Sidhart Krishnamurthi (12) said. “I think, as a whole, our whole line played better. Our receivers played better, ran better, caught more balls. Our defense definitely was amazing because, if you think about it, they only got two true touchdowns against us. Overall, we just played better.”
The difficulty of the victory made the win more significant to the team.
“Tonight was a little more fun [than Homecoming]. It was closer of a game, and it challenged us a little more,” Logan Drazovich (11) said. “It was definitely a big turning point for us.”
As Coach Forbes said, “This is a really, really young team, and they grew up a lot today.”
The team’s next game will be next Friday at home against Emery.
Neha Sunil (12) is the Social Media Editor and Seniors Editor for the TALON yearbook. She has been part of the publication for four years and was previously...