A homecoming victory can save a rough season. For Los Altos High School’s varsity football team, that’s exactly what happened.

“Winning Homecoming is one of the best feelings in the world,” senior Juan Lopez Gonzalez said. “I’m just on cloud nine right now. There’s no other way to describe it.”

“It feels great,” senior Dhruv Aron said. “Winning with these guys, who I know have put everything into every single day of practice, and having all our hard work come together, feels amazing.”

The Eagles’ 10–6 victory over the Santa Clara High School Bruins was not won quickly. Both teams battled through the first quarter, with neither side finding the end zone. But Los Altos didn’t stop pushing.

“We were resilient,” Head Coach Mark Adams said. “We were down some players, but we didn’t give up.”

Near the end of the quarter, momentum slowly started to shift. With just over two minutes remaining, Los Altos broke through Santa Clara’s defensive line, and senior Fisher Sirey scored a touchdown to put the Eagles up 7–0.

“It just feels really, really good,” Fisher said. “I have a fire team to back me up. It wasn’t just me.”

The Eagles kept the pressure on Santa Clara throughout the second quarter, eventually attempting and missing a field goal. Although the Bruins kept Los Altos from scoring, they couldn’t find any scoring opportunities for themselves.

“Our defense really stepped up,” sophomore Giancarlo Mendoza said. “They came in clutch when they needed to and sealed the game.”

“Our defense really was lockdown,” Fisher said. “Our offense could have been a little better, but wow. Our defense had some great plays.”

After halftime, Los Altos and Santa Clara seemed evenly matched. The quarter went similar to the first, but flipped — with a minute thirty remaining, the Bruins scored to put the score at 7–6. However, the Bruins missed the conversion kick, and the Eagles kept their lead.

“We didn’t let ourselves get in our head at all,” Juan said. “If there was a setback or anything negative, we brushed it off and cleared our minds. We just kept that next-play mentality.”

The Eagles came out strong for the fourth. With interceptions and continuing pressure, scoring seemed inevitable.

“It’s all in the practice,” Dhruv said. “We had the greatest week of practice we’ve ever had, and everyone was focused.”

Halfway through the quarter, a successful QB sneak made it look like Los Altos would be up by at least seven points. But a flag overturned the potential touchdown, and though the Eagles scored a field goal two minutes later, the 4-point lead was tenuous at best. With the Bruins only a few yards from the end zone and less than a minute left, things looked dangerous.

But with a roaring crowd and stifling defense, Los Altos stopped two Santa Clara enzone passes from connecting. The timer hit zero, and the Eagles had landed a victory.

“We truly cared about this game,” Dhruv said. “We put our hearts on the field, and we played our hearts out. I think that made all the difference.”

“It feels really good to have this game as my last game on this field,” Fisher said. “I take pride in the school, I take pride in the sports that I play, and I take pride in my team. It’s more than a community — it’s a family. It’s a brotherhood.”

The Eagles will travel to Mountain View High School tomorrow to face the Spartans in the annual rivalry football game.