It was obvious from the very first whistle.
The Santa Clara Bruins awoke from the team’s offseason hibernation as an extremely hungry group of brown bears. A year ago, the Bruins were embarrassed on the team’s home field in a 28-6 loss to cross-town rival, the MacDonald Condors.
While Santa Clara clearly came out fired up, the Bruins players kept their emotions focused on the task at hand. Led by both a sophomore quarterback in Elijah Palomino-Hendrix and a sophomore running back in Josiah Guittap, the Bruins methodically marched down the field on the first drive of the game. The two vital young skill guys shined throughout, but they didn’t do it alone.
Supporting the two youngsters on offense is a veteran-laden offensive line led by senior captain Patrick Murgallis, as well as an experienced receiving core led by fellow senior captain Kalani Tesimale. Capping off the first two touchdowns of the game were a three-year varsity player in Tesimale and senior classmate Savion Thomas.
After those two touchdowns gave the Bruins a 14-3 lead, it would be Guittap’s turn in the second quarter to find pay dirt. The sophomore’s rushing touchdown increased the Bruins’ lead to 21-3. Shortly thereafter, a Tesimale interception would set up another Santa Clara touchdown. Palomino-Hendrix would score a QB keeper from one yard out to extend the advantage to 27-3.
While the Condors would pull within 27-13 in the third quarter, the Bruins put the proverbial nail in the coffin thanks to a 53-yard interception return from Daniel Wolde. Santa Clara tacked on one more touchdown late in the game on a passing connection from Palomino-Hendrix to Bubacar Diallo. The final in this one was very much fitting of the overall game, with a final of 41-13.
“Last year was not fun,” responded Tesimale when asked about getting revenge on MacDonald. “To come out this year hard, it was a lot of fun. We had a lot of heart and energy coming into the game. We wanted to get it back and we got it.”
“I really wanted it,” added Murgallis when asked how badly he wanted this win. “I knew that if we banded together and stuck together that we could get it and that’s what happened.”
With the idea in mind of not wanting his players to be too amped up for certain games, Bruins Head Coach Nelson Gifford downplayed the revenge factor when discussing the big win.
“Getting a win in the first game of the season, or just getting your first win whenever it comes, is always really important, irrespective of who the opponent is,” chimed Gifford. “Obviously, MacDonald is a terrific team; Coach [Burt] Codera is doing a great job with his kids and the program. For us, I thought our scheme was appropriate, the calls were appropriate, and the kids just played lights out and made so many phenomenal team and individual plays.”
The Bruins will look to carry the momentum into Week 2 when they host Del Mar on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.