As students return to school, so does Brahma Football. At the forefront of Diamond Bar’s football team is senior wide receiver and defensive back Dominic “Dom” Deguzman. Coming off a season with two touchdowns, 64 receiving yards, and two interceptions, Deguzman was second on the team in interceptions last year, including a pick-six in the Branding Iron game.
Playing football since the age of eight, Deguzman was introduced to the game by his father.
“My dad was a big football fan,” Deguzman said. “Still is a big football fan. He really just said to try the sport and see if I like it or not, and I ended up liking it.”
Now in his final season of high school football, Deguzman believes he still has more left in the tank. He now seeks to make his senior year of football a memorable one.
“Me, personally, I think I’m doing well,” Deguzman said. “Still got more in me, it’s my last season, so I got to really make it count.”
The Brahmas had a tough season last year, finishing with a 3-7 final record and going 3-2 in league play, causing the team to miss CIF Playoffs by a slim margin. Now, Deguzman believes that the team has improved and hopes to produce better results this season. His goals for his final year at Diamond Bar include leading the Hacienda League in new records and winning the Brading Iron for the fourth year straight.
“We didn’t start off great,” Deguzman said. “But I believe that this team this year can do so much better than last year. We have the capability of doing it, and I just want to win Branding Iron again for four years straight.”
Deguzman wasn’t always one of the star players for the Brahmas. He has put in much work that has helped him prove his excellence and secure his position on the team.
“In my sophomore year, people were starting over me,” Deguzman said. “And that just hit me [to work] harder and all that. So I worked harder and got my position back.”
With Deguzman in his final season as a Brahma, Deguzman is now eyeing the possibility of playing college football. After high school, Deguzman hopes to play at Citrus Community College in Glendora and then go from there, having already been in communication with their head coach.
“I’m going to try to play at Citrus College and see where I could go from there,” Deguzman said. “Their coach is talking to me, saying to come play. ‘We’ll get you right, get you to the next level.’”
For now, Deguzman hopes that the school will support the football team for the rest of the season. With an exciting season ahead, Deguzman wants the whole school to be behind Brahma Football.
“All I got to say is come down for our football games,” Deguzman said. “This season is going to turn, it’s going to flip everything. We’re going to make it fire.”