The Weston Ranch varsity football team will welcome VOL rival Oakdale tonight beginning at 7 pm in the Cougar Stadium. Weston Ranch is coming off a needed bye-week after suffering a 71-14 loss at the hands of Buhach Colony on September 13th. The Cougars will again face a tough opponent in the Mustangs.
The Cougars have seen their numbers dwindle over the past few weeks due to some untimely injuries. The most notable damage being senior lineman Isaiah Maxie who will not be able to play tonight. But, the Cougars will tee it up at 7 o’clock and see what happens.
“We are still pushing through the season,” said head coach Sal Reyes. “We have had some injuries to impact players, and we have lost a few players because of character and academic issues to our already small team, so we have had to adjust our team’s dynamics quite a bit.”
However, Reyes did add a bit of optimism for tonight’s contest.
“The Seniors are excited and motivated to play their last Homecoming game tonight,” head coach Sal Reyes said. “We know Oakdale is coming into our house to make a point, but we are up to the challenge, and I know our boys will fight for four quarters and will bring a victory on our home field.”
Oakdale comes into tonight’s game ranked number one in the Section Division IV and number 22 in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Oakdale is the first of four VOL teams ranked in the Division IV section top ten (Sierra, Manteca, and East Union are the other three) which the Cougars have the monumental task of taking on. With limited numbers, the Cougars will probably see more than their fair share of adversity. Throw in Central Catholic, who currently play at the Division II level and are ranked eighth in that section, and Kimball who sits at number 12 in the Division IV section rankings, and the Cougars might not have much to look forward to as they move through the league schedule.
However, such reality should not damper the hopes and dreams of the players and fans who support them. The players who choose to play football represent our school admirably. Although the points have been piling up against the young Cougars, one glimmer of hope continues to sparkle.
Shining bright is running back, Aaron Vickers. The sophomore running back scored twice against Buhach Colony, once on a 42 yard run and the other on a 50-yard run. Although the TD dashes came late in the game when the Cougars were down big, Vickers continued to rush hard and try to make at least good things happen. Vickers has big-play capabilities, and the Cougars have someone to build around for the next two-plus years while he is here.
In addition to Vickers on-field accolades, Reyes added, “I would like to give a shout-out to Javier Suarez for improving his academics, and to Marcel Phillips and Alfred Williams for taking charge of our team and are becoming key leaders on our team.”
Tonight’s game is also the culmination of WR’s Homecoming week. Students have spent the week involved in various campus spirit activities and plan to represent Cougar Nation well for the game tonight. Weston Ranch will always be a great place to be. Win or lose tonight, the Cougars always make the campus proud. That should count for something.
“In regards our team, we are starting to build new leaders within the team, and the players are still playing through all the adversity they have endured this season,” Reyes added. “I’m proud of each player on our team because as we build our structure and hold them accountable for their actions, all of the coaches can see how they are maturing and becoming a family.”
