The stage was set, Steele has been a juggernaut for years in the state, while MacArthur is in the playoffs for the first time since 2011. With a win or go home mindset on both sides, the teams met on Thu. Nov 6. at Alamo Stadium.
Looking to shock the city, the Brahmas hung around for the first quarter and a half, running the ball effectively and creating opportunities. Unfortunately, turnovers and Steele’s impressive athleticism caused the score to get out of hand as MacArthur ended up losing 70-21, capping a great season for the team.
Josh Jung threw for almost 2,500 yards this season with 25 touchdowns. Most of his passes went to juniors Bobby Lepovitz and Jerimiah Cura, or seniors John Guerrero and Davionne Vasquez. Senior Isiah Dennis rushed for 824 yards and 16 touchdowns, along with junior Daijon Williams who rushed for 622 yards and 8 touchdowns .
The defense was at times even better than the offense this season. Constantly creating turnovers, they were led by seniors Zannon Stallworth and Nik Tesalona who both ended the season with 5 interceptions each. The defense gave up less than 26 points per game.
After a grim 0-2 start, the team clicked and found a way into the playoffs. The team ended the season with a 5-6 record and coach Cook described what led to the team’s impressive season.
“They came together as a team.” Cook said, “They care about each other, they love each other, they work hard, and they started working together as a unit.”
The team will lose key pieces on both sides such as Nick Mendez, Isiah Dennis, Davionne Vasquez, Jamal Williams, Raul Pastor and more. However, after a taste of the playoffs the team is hungry for more and they know that there will be enough talent for a run next year.
“Now let’s just keep going, when we get back here again let’s have a better showing.” Cook said, “We can hang with anybody, we got ourselves to this point now let’s not be satisfied.”
