Spartans eager to open season
I Sports t was a long wait, but high school football is officially back.
The 2017 season will open Friday night and kick off 11 weeks of exciting matchups between local and out-of-town teams.
Opening the year with the first Game of the Week of the season is Central Union High.
The Spartans are set to host Kofa in what will be the team’s first official game under a new head coach in David Peña.
A Valley native, Peña took over the program in the spring and brought in new staff members to revitalize a Spartan program that finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 3-8 and an Imperial Valley League record of 2-3.
The Kofa matchup should be a good challenge for Central, who suffered a narrow 10-7 loss to the Arizona team last season.
The Spartans hope to see a different outcome this year as the contest with the Kings is not only a season opener, but a home opener as well.
“My expectations for the game are to just dominate and show the whole town what we’ve been working hard on all summer,” said senior Andres Garcia. “We want to show them we’ve come a long way and that we’re better than what we’ve been.”
The Kings already have one game under their belt as their season began last week with a 35-24 victory over Browne High out of Phoenix.
The Spartans and the Kings have played each other consecutively since 2012 with Central holding a 4-1 advantage over Kofa.
This year’s team will look to overturn the 2016 loss and is confident about its chances.
“Everyone gives 110 percent and the coaches push us to be better than what we were the day before,” Garcia said.
Garcia’s teammate Kevin Even said he was also looking forward to finally opening the year after a productive off season.
“I think we’re really ready,” Even said. “We’ve been working all summer and we’ve been conditioning a lot for our offense to be fast-tempo and we’re just ready for it.”
Both players agreed the opportunity to open at home added a bit of pressure, which the team is embracing.
“We want to show the crowd what we’re about,” continued the senior linebacker. “I feel really confident going into these games. The past scrimmages I feel like we’ve been successful in offense and defense and our defense is better this year.”
Friday’s game will be the first of two consecutive home games for the Spartans, who are hoping the contests equate to a solid start to the season.
“(Fans) can expect to see something good and something more from last year,” Even said. “It’s going to give us a good start to the season playing on our field here at home. It’s going to give us a good advantage.”