Making a touch down towards victory

Ethan Ro, Asst. Sports Editor|November 22, 2022

Following a blowout 42-7 victory against Hillcrest High School in the quarterfinals of the playoffs last Friday, the Brahmas are looking to continue their momentum throughout the remainder of the postseason with the return of starting senior quarterback Ryan Lewis. 

Under the direction of first year head coach Matt Castaneda, the Brahmas finished their regular season with the best overall record since 2001 and a Hacienda League Championship title. However, these feats were not accomplished without struggles involving injuries. 

“Obviously we lost our starting quarterback in the first play of the second game of the year,” Castaneda said. “We’ve been thankful that we’ve had Abram Mejia and Quinton Mendoza step up [to the quarterback position] and win us games.”

Throughout the regular season, senior running back/linebacker and Southern California Athlete of the Week Isaiah Young proved to be the team’s lead scorer with 144.9 average rushing yards per game and 26 touchdowns scored. On the defense, sophomore middle linebacker Matt Galvan stopped numerous opposing scoring drives, averaging 8.6 tackles per game.

Led by Young, senior wide receiver Maddox Bernardino, junior wide receiver Kai Jenkins, and sophomore quarterback Quinton Mendoza, the Brahmas also regained possession of the Branding Iron title after suffering a tough loss last season. This victory proved to be crucial in the team’s run to the Hacienda League title. 

Though the team has not been working on anything in particular for their upcoming games, they plan to implement the strategies that they have been using all season long: to make tackles on defense and establish their run game on offense. 

Castaneda credits much of the team’s success this season to the offensive line, who was able to create many openings for Young to take advantage of. But more importantly, the team’s mental fortitude helped them prevail through difficulties. 

With an 11-1 overall record and 3-0 league record, the Brahmas will face off against San Dimas at home for the CIF Division 9 semifinals on Friday, Nov. 18.