The football team remains tenacious as they move on from a recent major loss. The team lost its quarterback due to an arm injury. In spite of this, they remain strong and focused. The injury occurred during the second quarter against Parkland High School, Sept. 18.

Football is a rough contact sport, injuries aren’t welcomed but they are very common, it’s a risk that comes along with a physical sport.

“They slammed him to the ground right on his shoulder and the ground was real hard that day, it wasn’t a soft playing surface,” defensive coach John Villareal said.

The actions seen on the field that day provoked worries from everyone around him.

“Just like with any player, I was concerned for him, once it kind of settled in during halftime, was when we really found out what the injury was, and it was a lot worse than we imagined it would be,” coach Villareal said.

“I don’t know what I was feeling you know, shock, I didn’t even know how this could happen to me,” former quarterback Anthony Lopez said.

Injuries can occur in an instant. The loss was a reality check for the team. It made the rest of the players realize that they must play as a team if they expect to beat some of the toughest rivals in the district.

“Losing him showed us that we don’t need just one star player to win, we need the whole team to play as one. Our performance strengthened because everyone started practicing harder, doing their assignments and executing plays in the games,” linebacker Jacob Favela said.

Modifications were made to the team to in order compensate for the casualty.

“Our offense was accommodated for his loss, we got Christian Rosendez who is a pretty good backup, he’s done a great job for us but you know the kind of player he is, is different than Anthony Lopez, so our offense has changed the game plan around to fit Christian,” coach Villareal said.

As of now Lopez has new goals in sight.

“I’m focusing on my education now, you know, I think it was a sign to show that I need to focus on something else, that sports aren’t gonna take me all the way so, I need to get my mind on something else,” Lopez said.