On the first possession of the game for the Fremont Firebirds, a fumble was made with their opponent, the Santa Cruz Cardinals, recovering the football.
Unfortunately for the Firebirds, this was just the beginning of a night filled with turnovers, penalties, interceptions and other mistakes at the hands of the Cardinals, who won 42-7 on Friday night at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.
Fremont had three fumbles lost and two interceptions thrown on the night.
In the first half, the Firebirds’ mistakes combined with Santa Cruz revving up their offense for multiple touchdowns, Fremont had a hard time getting any momentum.
The second half spelled much better for Fremont with the team tackling with more conviction and being more aware and alert of potential penalties. Their offense got a boost with the return of starting quarterback, Bryand Arcia. Arcia started the second half after Alexiz Buenrostro and Johnathan Gutierrez played quarterback in the first half.
Arcia threw the Firebirds’ only score on a perfect high-arching 35-yard strike to Freddi Reyes on their opening drive of the second half.
Despite the loss, there are some facets of the game that Fremont can build upon. The quarterback passing in the second half was crisper and on target. Additionally, the effort was consistent throughout the second half.
Fremont can right the ship next Friday when they face the Wilcox Chargers, who come in tied with Palo Alto for the conference’s best record at 4-0.
