The first away game of the season is always one to look forward to. Thirty minutes away from home, Tartar Football found themselves in Pirate Territory at San Pedro High. Looking to get back on track and start a new winning streak—the Tartar boys reached the field with nothing but the pads on their shoulders and determination in their eyes.
As they started the game, the crowd could tell it would be a roller coaster ride. For the first 12 minutes, both teams would not seem to let up the pressure; they were in a game of tug of war, where both sides seemed to be evenly matched.
Halfway through the second quarter kicker Christopher Ramirez secured a 3 point field goal, acquiring the first few points of the game. Moments later the Tartars went to punt and return the ball and the Pirates managed to maneuver through the Torrance defenses, run clear across the field and score one of the most unexpected touchdowns in the season thus far, making the score 3-7. The entire stadium was in shock!
Flabbergasted, Torrance Tartars got the ball back and attempted another field goal but were ultimately unsuccessful and retreated from the field at halftime to devise a new plan to adjust the odds in their favor.
According to the Torrance team there are 2 ways to get your energy back for the second half; if you’re like Quarterback Connor Shearing it’s “being with [the] team and regrouping [to] understand the goal”, but if you’re more like Linebacker Jake Silverman there’s nothing better than “talking trash to [your team]”.
Back for the third quarter, the Pirates and the Tartars came with strong energy. The San Pedro team’s offense was aggressive and combative, making another touchdown only a few minutes in—raising the score to 14-3. The away stands grew worried as the competition appeared to be slightly overbearing, and maybe even too much for the boys to handle.
But that wasn’t the case. “When we were down, we never gave up, we never backed down…they weren’t ready for us!” declared Running Back Ryan Young.
The team stayed fired up and with their combined dedication and teamwork, Jake Silverman rushed through the Pirates’ defenses and to the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Later in the same quarter, as Tartars inched closer to the goal line, Ryan Young charged through the San Pedro line to run just over 20 yards and make another touchdown for the team. At this point the Torrance Football team has gotten back the advantage with a new score of 17-14.
Keeping their positive energy, 2 minutes into the final quarter of the game 9 yards away from the end zone, Silverman ran the ball in himself, boosting the score again to 24-14. Silverman remarked “Give me the ball behind my O-line, it’s going to work every time”. The San Pedro Pirates responded by kicking a field goal for 3 more points. These were the final points of the game. Torrance won 24-17.
Young and Silverman or “the two-headed monster” on Twitter gained well over 100 yards a piece, and while having improved from the previous game Young speaks for the team when he proclaims they are “never satisfied…always ready for more”.
