Road to CIF

Can coach Fil and his Varsity team win it all this year? Only time will tell, but the Gladiators will need your support. The season starts on January 13th, and they will be facing Legacy High school. So if you have some time, make sure to go support our Gladiators every home game. With talented players like #7 Erik Gomez, #10 Orlando De Luna, and # 23 Luis Perez, you can expect fast games with high entertainment. We know the Gladiators can make it, and they are more determined than ever to get back to the C.I.F. finals.

We came up short last year, but now we are back with the same goal: make it to the city finals. This is a senior dominated team, with twelve seniors, which means that this is their last year to reach glory. There are five juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman who are ready achieve something spectacular this year and step it up next season when the seniors leave. Expectations are high as this three year-old program has already delivered excellent results with last year’s J.V. and Varsity team winning the Central League Title.

The team is facing brand new teams this year as they have moved city sections. Instead of playing schools like Miguel Contreras, Belmont, and Bernstein, they are going to be playing Bravo Medical, Legacy, and Maywood Academy. Brand new teams bring brand new challenges, and we’ll see throughout the season how they adjust to this new league.

The first preseason game is a preview of the approaching season. They played Diego Rivera on December 3rd and it was an away game. Marquez beat Diego Rivera last year 2-0 so the team was confident that they would be able to do it again. The Huskies took the lead with an easy tap in goal after an unexpected deflection happened inside the Gladiator goalie box.

When the second half started, Marquez dominated with many chances, and Erik Gomez hit a cross bar. Frustration, desperation, and bad calls led to the Gladiators still not being able to tie up the game. In the dying minutes, #8 Pedro Molina took it down the right wing, leaving the Husky winger in the dust. He crossed the ball and connected with Sophomore Joel Oliva. With the first touch Joel let off a cannon shot that rang past the keeper. The score was 1-1, and then the ref blew the whistle. It certainly wasn’t the result the Gladiators expected, but it showed off the mentality of the team: fight until the last minute.“When you see the effort like that, you cannot be mad,” says coach Fil.

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