On November 3rd, the field was dedicated to Howard Breinig and the Cougar’s varsity football team finally secured a win following a 5-game losing streak, making it a Homecoming to remember for years to come.
To start the day, the marching band and the cheer team put on a fun-tastic hall march. This got everyone excited for the events to follow. A hall march is an annual event performed on Homecoming Day during first period to get students excited for the day to come. This year’s did not disappoint.
Then, was the pep rally – Halloween-themed! The gym was full of Halloween colors and students dressed to celebrate. We started off counting down the days to graduation for every class and congratulated our 4.0 students. Students excitedly participated in games such as dodgeball, a relay race, and a game of tug of war – performed by the football team. Of course, we can’t forget about our teacher game – musical chairs, which ultimately got the crowd ready for performances by our cheer team and the Black Student Union.
The tailgate was another big part of Homecoming. Before the game, clubs set up activities and food trucks came for students to enjoy. This was all set up by our lovely Student Council. They put in a lot of work and effort to make everything perfect and enjoyable for everyone who chooses to come and have a nice meal before the big game.
During halftime, there was a special celebration for Howard Breinig – a special Cougar, and now the namesake of our football field. He is a long-time member of the Sahuaro community, starting from when he coached wrestling in the 70s and football in the 80s and 90s. He was also an amazing teacher and mentor to the students.
“I’m so excited about it I don’t know what to say…I would say how I feel but I can’t express it,” Howard said. Since he was a coach so long ago, he thought his days with the team were over, but when he heard that Sahuaro was dedicating the field to him, he was over the moon about it.
Athletic Director Steve Botkin said that this dedication was important to future students because our school’s foundation is based on tradition and building legacies. “Hopefully as they graduate they can continue to build a tradition and a legacy here at Sahuaro.” Breinig was a great coach and mentor who put our football team above and beyond the standard.
For everyone hoping that we would go out with a win, their dreams came true. Sahuaro Cougars won with a score of 33-7! To say the least, it was a big win for the Sahuaro Cougars with a lot of smiles and emotion.
Let’s introduce some of our seniors:
Seth Gustafsson is the football team manager, who helps out the team a lot. Some of his jobs as a manager include handing out equipment, getting anything the coach needs, doing laundry, cleaning the locker room, and most importantly, supporting the team. Seth was escorted by his mom, dad, sister, brother, and grandmother. He plans to go to the University of Arizona to study sports med and biology; he hopes to become a sports manager for one of their teams.
Jailen Clark, a running back and defensive end, has been playing football for five years – starting as a kid needing something to put his energy into. This is Jailen’s first year at Sahuaro, after transferring over to play under his uncle, Coach Al. Jailen was a little worried about the Homecoming game because of the unfortunate losing streak the team has been on; he really wanted a big win to end the season. He was escorted onto the field by his mom and Coach Al. He does plan to attend college after high school but hasn’t quite decided where he wants to go.
Twin brothers, Ian and Ethan O’Donnell, have been on the team for three years, and have both been great assets to the team. Ethan plans to go to college locally and study sports medicine and physical therapy, while Ian plans to join the military to serve his country. Ian, a wide receiver and strong safety, didn’t feel a lot of pressure going into the game because he goes in like it’s any other game. Last year, both Ethan and Ian unfortunately had to sit out because of an ACL tear. This year, Ian was able to play again, but Ethan tore his other ACL, so he cheered and supported his team from the sideline.
Vincenzo “Vinny” Orlando, our quarterback, was escorted onto the field by his dad, sister, brother, nana, and cousin. He plans to go to college for mechanical engineering and continue his football career. He has played on varsity for three years but has been playing in general since he was seven. He moved here from the East Coast to be closer to his family. Vinny said that during the games, he does, “…feel pressure a little bit, but I don’t let that affect me.” His favorite memory from Sahuaro football is when he won his first game with the team.
Elijah Moses, a wide receiver, has been playing football for four years – on Sahuaro varsity for two. He was escorted by his mom, grandma, brother, uncle, grandpa, and girlfriend. He plans to go to college and continue football at the next level but hasn’t quite decided where he wants to go yet. He is sad that this is his last game, but Elijah will always come back to support the team after he graduates and reminisce on some of his favorite memories from Sahuaro football, like when he won his first game with the team.
Brady Celantano is a linebacker for the Sahuaro Cougars and has been on the team since his sophomore year. In his first year with the team he faced an injury, but Brady didn’t let that tarnish the rest of his years. He plans to study business in college while continuing to play football. His favorite part about the is being with his teammates every day; he hopes that he is a good role model to the younger players on the team. Brady originally felt some pressure for this game, with it being his last game – he really wanted to finish with a win.
After moving from Texas this year to be closer to his family, Bryce Battle finished out his high school football career on the varsity team. He was escorted by his mother, father, brothers, and nephew. He plans to study nursing at Texas Tech and hopefully run track and field. The most memorable moment from his Cougar football career was when they were playing against Douglas and took a kick return back for 98 yards. Though Bryce has only been on the team for one year, he has bonded so much with the team that it’s hard to leave. “Hurts hurts a lot… I’ll probably go into the locker room and shed a couple of tears,” he said.
Jack Berry plays defensive end and a tight end and is a wonderful role model for the younger members of the team. He has been playing football for a total of six years – three on varsity at Sahuaro. His favorite memory from Sahuaro football was his first touchdown. He didn’t feel a lot of pressure going into the game and felt a lot of emotions after the game because it was his last game with Sahuaro, though he wasn’t expecting to be so emotional.
Kingston Grigsby, left tackle and defensive end, has been playing with Sahuaro since his freshman year. He had originally quit when he was younger because it was a lot of stress on him. He never regretted quitting, but after being begged by his dad and brother to start playing again, he did. Kingston already has three offers to play in college, but Fort Louis sticks out to him. His favorite memory from his freshman year is when his coach taught him that when he’s on the line, he should squat like a duck.
Though a lot of people were tired after the game, we still had an amazing haunted Homecoming dance with cool music, snacks, and Polaroid pictures. There was a great attendance – 200 tickets were sold in the finance office, and about 50 were sold at the door. We really made use of the gym space. Until next year!
