Fighting on foreign turf By Nadia Lynn
NPHS VS. MOORPARK HIGH SCHOOL The away game on Friday, Sept. 15, was lost by a single point after a long, aggressive game that went into overtime. The result of this game evens out the record for the season thus far, 2 wins and 2 losses. FINAL SCORE: 28 - 27, MOORPARK
If you have never been to an away game before, you might assume that the guest side would be eerily quiet compared to the boisterous noise at a home game. However, the experience is in fact quite the opposite. Although the crowd may not be large in physical size, it is huge in terms of emotional reactivity. This is the crowd that really cares about the team. This is the crowd that cheers ecstatically at all the right moments. This is the crowd that gasps when the game calls for it. And this is the crowd that feels the weight of loss. Of course, it still doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what the players feel over losing such a close game. To lose by a single point after making it into overtime is like having a rug pulled from under your own feet. It’s mocking and teasing in the most cruel way imaginable. But it’s the second time this season that the team has lost by such a tauntingly close score. The game against TO also pushed into overtime and kept everyones’ hopes alive until the last second. It was also a “devastating game,” Ben Okun, quarterback, said. And the pain is real, you can see it in their dejected trudge towards the bus home, heads hung and eyes down. But the crowd knows how close it really was. They know how well the team played. They know how far we’ve come. And they know we really do have a chance this year.
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