Varsity football making a come back

Allison Garcia and Karla Dionisio|November 15, 2018

Last year Galena High went 0-9 in the football season of 2017. This year things slowly changed,  the 2018 Varsity Football season was more successful than last year’s season. They ended with two wins and seven losses over all. Sophomore running back and stat leader, Peyton Bauer said, “I felt really good about the season because we improved a lot from last season and got some wins for the Pirates, which we really needed.”

The season was tough on the seniors. They tried their best to conquer each game and leave Galena High School with a better legacy. Coach Freed said, “It is always a big boost as you start your off-season, to have won that last game for the underclassmen.”

Seniors Keiran Duppless and Connor Einsweiler played hard for their last year. Keiran Duppless ‘18 was a stat leader with 75 carriers for 236 yards and 35 tackles overall. Wide receiver, Conner Einsweiler ‘18, was also a stat leader with 19 catches for 315 yards, 4 touchdowns, 52 tackles and 4 Interceptions. They had many ups and downs and still need to improve on certain skills.

“As a team I think our focus during practice could have improved. We needed to be more fundamentally sound and know all of our assignments. Also, having the right mind set on game days and coming ready to play [helps],” said Einsweiler.

It also didn’t help the team that they had injured players and even a few of them had to sit out. This was crucial against harder teams, like Lena-Winslow and Eastland- Pearl City, where they lost 42-7 and 34-7. Damian Stephanopoulos ‘20 and David Garcia ‘20 were some players who had to sit out during these games due to head concussions, hurt hands, knees and feet. This affected the team because players got tired and they didn’t have many people to put in for a replacement.

However, the team put in as much effort as they could which led them to two wins.

“The most important part of being on the football team is team chemistry and individual work,” said Anderson, “We have to be cohesive on the field to be able to keep up with teams who have more experience than us. Everyone has to put in their own amount of work to do this.”

Best of luck to the seniors, upcoming varsity players, and the future Galena High School football players to be!