Mustangs Dethrone Rival at Battle of the Den
Football beats Leland after five years with no wins in the annual game.
By Saya Fujii and Jake Brodrick
Football beats Leland after five years with no wins in the annual game.
By Saya Fujii and Jake Brodrick
The annual “Battle of the Den,” the rival game between the Pioneer Mustang and Leland Charger football teams, took place on Sept. 22 this year.
For the past five years, the Mustang football team has battled against the Chargers with no wins in the big game, but this year, they came out on top. The low-scoring game was a battle of defenses as the final score was 10-7, with the Mustangs winning by only a field goal.
Linebacker Gage Kindel, 11, thought that the team played hard with a reasonable score, but also sees improvements that could be made.
“Overall I think our offense didn’t do bad but we definitely need to work on our run game and our catching,” said Kindel. “Our defense was not bad but we really need to work on our outside runs.”
While the defense was holding the Chargers back, the offense fought their way to the end zone with quarterback Damian Flores, 12, scoring the only touchdown for the Mustangs.
“This win was very important because the shield was on the line and they beat us for many years in a row,” said Flores.
While everyone in the stands was getting excited to watch the legendary match up, the players were in their locker rooms mentally preparing for the battle they were about to fight. The game brought out the intensity to make the rivalry even more solidified in the players mind.
“It was very nerve racking and I knew we had to be locked in,” said Flores.
The team was down several players due to injuries, which the other members of the team had to make up for during the week leading up to the game.
“We were focusing on filling positions and trying to compensate for injured players, we had a lot of wide receivers (out) who also played safety and corner so (we are) just filling positions and getting people comfortable with playing them,” said middle linebacker Evan Garabedian, 11.
Fan reactions were as excitement-filled as the players were after hearing the whistle to end the game.
“I was hyped, We finally broke our five-year losing streak,” said Marcos Cournoyer, 11.
Hannah Dudum, 12, believed that the game changed the students’ views on the football team.
“(It was) surprising just because of the amount of times we’ve lost before, but it was fun when we won and it's always fun when you win,” said Dudum.
Many people were very excited to see the football team take on the Chargers in the first place but it made it even more special for the win to come on home turf..
“We’ve lost for the last five years and I'm glad we came out on top,” said Dudum.
It wasn't just the players and fans who were ecstatic over the win, the coaching staff also enjoyed their moment of glory celebrating with the team.
“It had been a few years since we’d beaten Leland so it was obviously super exciting and the guys loved it and we were finally able to get that trophy over to Pioneer and we haven’t seen it since they built it, it was big for us,” said football Head Coach Eric Perry.
For the past five years, the Mustang football team has battled against the Chargers with no wins in the big game, but this year, they came out on top. The low-scoring game was a battle of defenses as the final score was 10-7, with the Mustangs winning by only a field goal.
Linebacker Gage Kindel, 11, thought that the team played hard with a reasonable score, but also sees improvements that could be made.
“Overall I think our offense didn’t do bad but we definitely need to work on our run game and our catching,” said Kindel. “Our defense was not bad but we really need to work on our outside runs.”
While the defense was holding the Chargers back, the offense fought their way to the end zone with quarterback Damian Flores, 12, scoring the only touchdown for the Mustangs.
“This win was very important because the shield was on the line and they beat us for many years in a row,” said Flores.
While everyone in the stands was getting excited to watch the legendary match up, the players were in their locker rooms mentally preparing for the battle they were about to fight. The game brought out the intensity to make the rivalry even more solidified in the players mind.
“It was very nerve racking and I knew we had to be locked in,” said Flores.
The team was down several players due to injuries, which the other members of the team had to make up for during the week leading up to the game.
“We were focusing on filling positions and trying to compensate for injured players, we had a lot of wide receivers (out) who also played safety and corner so (we are) just filling positions and getting people comfortable with playing them,” said middle linebacker Evan Garabedian, 11.
Fan reactions were as excitement-filled as the players were after hearing the whistle to end the game.
“I was hyped, We finally broke our five-year losing streak,” said Marcos Cournoyer, 11.
Hannah Dudum, 12, believed that the game changed the students’ views on the football team.
“(It was) surprising just because of the amount of times we’ve lost before, but it was fun when we won and it's always fun when you win,” said Dudum.
Many people were very excited to see the football team take on the Chargers in the first place but it made it even more special for the win to come on home turf..
“We’ve lost for the last five years and I'm glad we came out on top,” said Dudum.
It wasn't just the players and fans who were ecstatic over the win, the coaching staff also enjoyed their moment of glory celebrating with the team.
“It had been a few years since we’d beaten Leland so it was obviously super exciting and the guys loved it and we were finally able to get that trophy over to Pioneer and we haven’t seen it since they built it, it was big for us,” said football Head Coach Eric Perry.