SM Bear Cats slaughter the Cherokees 40-0

As overpowering as the offense seemed on Friday, the defense of the Cats was crucial to the team's success. The Bear Cats were quick to the ball, jumping on fumbles and anticipating where Cherokee quarterbacks were going to go with passes. Coach T. J. Ewing of the Bear Cats pointed to the reunion of Marshall and Ben Wolfklain, both cornerbacks, as a big reason the defense stood tough. "It's great to have the experience and leadership of those guys back there. Marshall was injured last year, and he's finally back from a thumb injury this season. He's a senior, and we need him if we're going to do well down the stretch."

The coach knows what he's talking about. The Bear Cats play at Half Moon Bay next week, then play Hillsdale before playing Burlingame on Nov. 11 for their final game of the season. San Mateo will need to win all three games and must hope that their opponents, particularly Burlingame High, stumble down the stretch.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Cherokees don't have much to look forward to. However, the team's judgement of itself doesn't seem to solely follow the scoreboard. After the game, a stoic Coach Grayson reflected on the frustration of losing a one-sided game. "We're doing the best we can with the players we have. We've lost numerous players, starters, this season, and we're having to fill those spots with guys who just haven't played very much football."

The final score is what most bothers Grayson, who feels that it simply does not reflect the effort his team put in. Grayson lauded the efforts of several of his players, some of whom had gone to the locker room but many of whom were within earshot of the praises of thier coach. With the class and dignity that is too often missing from preperatory sports, the coach concluded with "Yeah, we got beat pretty bad, but look at Jose Mesa, he had 21 tackles. David Rodriques played his heart out. We have a lot of guys who gave it everything they had, but none of that will show up in the boxscore."

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