Upon walking onto Cabrillo High School’s field Friday night, I noticed a change in the atmosphere. Something was different between this Cabrillo and the Cabrillo I remembered playing against in high school a few years ago: there was an air of excitement emanating from every Jaguar, both on the field and in the stands. A lot of that excitement has to do with new head coach A.J. Luke, who, in his first game at the helm of the Jags, would try and bring some of the success he had at Long Beach Poly across the bridge. Unfortunately, Edison was determined not to be the first measure of that success, and they went on to rout the Jaguars 63-8. How did coach Luke handle this monumental hurdle? By telling his players to “let it go.” Well, let it go and make sure you don’t miss practice at 8 in the morning on Saturday.

The Jags played an amazing first quarter, pulling a few aces out of their hats to convert on fourth and find the end zone.  A quarterback sneak gave Cabrillo a two-point conversion and a one point lead, 8-7.  The Jaguars then attempted an onside kick that allowed them to retain their lead and possession of the ball until the second quarter.  That was it for the Jags’ good fortune in this game, as a series of turnovers in terrible field position coupled with poor tackling and a dominant Edison offense proved to be too much for the home team, and they headed into the locker room at half time down 49-8.  A running clock for the entirety of the second half, along with a better defensive effort by Cabrillo, held the damage to 14 for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, the Jaguars failed to find their passing game and were unable to add any notches to the home side of the scoreboard.  When I talked to Coach Luke after the game, he informed me that it was just the “Cabrillo hovering spirit,” and that, with time (and some good practices) they’d “Lose that spirit and bring a new spirit in.”

 

Despite the crushing defeat, the Jaguars showed that, with Roman Lewis at the helm (coach Luke praised Lewis’ ability to “stay positive when bad things keep happening”), they could be competitive in the Moore League this season provided they can continue to improve.  Coach Luke mentioned playoffs in our post game interview, which many would say is a bit ambitious given their current position.  However, extra practice time coupled with a tough preseason schedule just might be enough to get the Jaguars in shape for the start of the Moore League season. Despite the tough loss, Coach Luke’s plans and the raw, young talent on his team are enough to keep fans looking forward, to the start of league play.  If they can survive the next month, that is.