![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Listen along as Co-Sports Editor Wenjie Zou (12) and Co-Assistant STEM Editor Kanav Gupta (10) discuss their expectations for today’s match pitting the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots
View the full transcript here:
Kanav: Hi, I’m Kanav and I’m co-assistant STEM editor.
Wenjie: And I’m Wenjie. I’m the co-sports editor.
Kanav: And today, we’re gonna be talking about our predictions for Super Bowl 60, which will take place on February 8th at Levi’s Stadium. Wenjie, what are your predictions for Sunday’s big game?
Wenjie: Well, I think the game’s going to end 20 to 17 with the Patriots winning. The general consensus is that the Seahawks are going to dominate both sides of the ball, but I don’t think that’s the case.
The Patriots’ defensive line has proven themselves time and time again in these playoffs. Sure, the Chargers and Texans’ offensive lines have been dealing with injuries, but the Broncos’ O-line have been one of the strongest over the past two seasons, as they featured two first team All-Pros with Garrett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz. And as we saw in the AFC Championship game, Pats D-lineman Christian Barmore made multiple sacks on the Broncos quarterback untouched.
The Pats also have Milton Williams, who won the Super Bowl last year with the Eagles and sacked Mahomes twice that game. Millton Williams, I think, has that playoff experience to attract double teams from the Seahawks center and guards on the O-line, leaving space for Barmore to exploit the Seahawks’ tackles one on one and sack Sam Darnold.
Kanav: I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one. To me, the Seahawks win in a landslide, and I’m thinking the score will be 30 to 17. My main reason for this is that the Seahawks do have the best defense in the league, and it has shown all season long. And Sam Darnold has really had a career resurgence in Seattle, and his talents combined with offensive talents like Jackson Smith Njigba and Kenneth Walker make for a winning combination.
A lot of people have forgotten that their wide receiver two, Cooper Kupp, isn’t a stranger to the games either, when he led the NFL in receiving yards, receptions, and touchdowns in 2021 with the Rams while winning Offensive Player of the Year and winning Super Bowl MVP in the same year.
Wenjie: Yeah, that’s true. Jackson Smith Njigba is definitely going to be a huge problem for the Patriots’ secondary. Each game in the playoffs, the Patriots’ secondary has given up a huge pass. Even the Broncos’ backup quarterback threw a huge bomb early in the game in the AFC Championship. It was only until later in the game the Patriots’ secondary started to lock in.
But I still believe that if the Patriots’ defensive line can’t rattle Sam Darnold, it’ll be a long day for the Pats’ secondary. There’s only a few cornerbacks in the NFL that are better than the star Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, but even fewer wide receivers in the NFL are better than Njigba. This past season, Gonzalez has primarily stuck to one side of the field because the Patriots’ defense are implementing a zone scheme. So I definitely think that JSN will be racking up a lot of yards.
Kanav: I definitely don’t think this is going to be a game similar to the NFC divisional when the Seahawks beat the Niners 41 to 6. The Patriots do have a ton of weapons, especially with Stefon Diggs having an excellent comeback year, as well as Drake Maye being the favorite for MVP and playing exceptionally well this year. Not to mention their defensive weapons like Christian Barmore and Christian Gonzalez, but there’s a reason I have the Patriots still losing the game.
I still feel they’ve underperformed these playoffs. Their strength of schedule in the regular season was officially the easiest, playing opponents with a combined 0.391 win percentage. They’ve had embarrassing losses to teams like the Raiders and Steelers as two of their 3 losses, and in the playoffs, they’ve played a historically bad playoff performing Justin Herbert, a Texans team that threw 4 interceptions in the first half, and a Broncos team without their star quarterback Bo Nix. And in all those games, they’ve come out slow and none of them have been convincing wins.
The fact that the final score of the Patriots game against the Jarrett Stidham led Broncos was 10 to 7 should be really scary for Patriots fans.
Wenjie: Well, before we lock in the final scores, I want to take a look at the coaching side of the game. This is why I’m willing to pick a Patriots upset. Mike Vrabel, the Patriots’ head coach, has already had tons of playoff experiences, and when he was the head coach of the Titans, he wasn’t a stranger to having a weaker roster, everyone counting him out, but he would always find a way to win anyways because he’s definitely sharper in the moments that decide playoff games.
Let’s look at the 2019 season when he was with the Titans in those playoffs. Those Titans weren’t the best roster left as they only had Ryan Tannehill as their quarterback, but they went on the road and upset the Tom Brady Patriots and then went back on the road and took on the number one seeded Ravens who had MVP Lamar Jackson. That game was why I think Vrabel will pull off this victory against the Seahawks this year, as it was clear that Vrabel did his homework on Lamar Jackson and forced him to throw tons of interceptions. And even in 2021, when they were beat up all year, Vrabel still got a short-handed Titans team to the AFC’s number one seed.
So, on the other side, we’ve got the Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald, who used to be a brilliant defensive mind, but as a head coach, he’s still relatively new compared to Vrabel. When he was on the Ravens, he held down a top tier Ravens defense in 2023, but that unit had tons of all-pros with Kyle Hamilton, and even then, they came up short in the playoffs.In the 2023 AFC Championship game, Patrick Mahomes put up 17 points in the first half against that stellar Ravens defense, so being a great defensive coordinator isn’t the same as managing the entire game like a head coach does.
And the final piece of the puzzle is Josh McDaniels. He was a mainstay in the Patriots dynasty, and he was a genius at manufacturing answers to tough defenses. He would find option routes for matchups. He would create 3rd down calls that would automatically get 1st downs. If this turns out to be a tight game, I think the Vrabel and McDaniels combo can squeeze out points and steal this one for the Patriots.
Kanav: At the end of the day, this game really comes down to control. I appreciate the coaching aspect of this matchup, but the Seahawks can just win this game in multiple ways, defensively or offensively. They just need to stay steady and play like they have been all year. The Patriots can give a very good fight, but I’m convinced that the Seahawks will walk away as Super Bowl 60 champions. However, we’ll see the outcome on Sunday. Thank you for listening.
