By Cameron Thorton, Staff Writer
// The Acalanes High School varsity football team (1-3 overall, 1-0 league) has their sights set high this season despite recent losses.
The Dons fought hard in their season opener against San Marin on Aug. 25, however the game ended in a tight loss of 20-27.
The next week, on Sept. 1, the team faced D1 powerhouse San Ramon Valley in their first home game, and came up short with a score of 21-44.
The team played Amador Valley in a USA themed home game on Sept. 8. In the first half, quarterback and senior Sully Bailey threw two touchdown passes to seniors Henry Souza and Mason Zirkel. These touchdowns went unanswered by Amador Valley until the second half. Unfortunately, the game ended in a loss of 12-14 after Amador Valley scored two touchdowns and landed both extra points in the third quarter.
“We started off our first three games [with] very tough [matchups]. San Ramon is Division one and … Amador Valley is Division one, but after that we get into league and it’s a different level of competition,” Head Coach Floyd Burnsed said.
The Dons played their first league game against the College Park Falcons on Sept. 22, winning with a score of 56-0. Improving the team’s record is well within reach this year as the team boasts a roster that includes three committed athletes including Kuhner and senior Trevor Rodgers.
“[The season] has been good from a development standpoint. These games are necessary for us to get in the position to be a winning team…spirits are high,” senior Paul Kuhner said.
Building team chemistry began long before the season. In June, the team attended the Lake Tahoe Football Camp. Over the four day period, the team got a chance to bond and get to know new players, as well as practice and play against other teams.
“The team bonding we really did was up at Lake Tahoe, it was fifteen hours of football altogether, so there was a lot of team bonding up there,” Burnsed said.
With their combination of talent and chemistry, the team expects a successful season.
“I think we will be in the playoffs, I think we can win our league, I think we can win the North Coast Section, and I think we can win the state championship,” Burnsed said.