Varsity football bench watches the game vs. Moreau Catholic
(34-12 Mustangs) from the sidelines.
After two state championships in three years, the San Marin football team is ready for a new challenge.
The team has joined the newly-created conference system in Northern California called the Redwood Empire, consisting of five other similarly skilled teams: Marin Catholic, Windsor, Rancho Cotate, Cardinal Newman, and Vintage.
This new conference means a removal from the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL).
In previous years, the MCAL games consisted of blowouts and shutouts, with the exception of the highly anticipated Marin Catholic games.
Tyler Peterson, San Marin’s Athletic Director, is hopeful that the division change will spark growth for the team.
“The whole point of this is competitive equity, all of the games will be closer and that’s what we were hoping for this year,”
Tyler Peterson
Athetic Director
“No one is learning anything from a blowout game, whether they are losing or winning. The whole point of this is competitive equity, all of the games will be closer and that’s what we were hoping for this year,” Peterson said.
This league change could impact the team’s chances of going farther in the playoffs due to harder opponents, but junior quarterback Daniel Rolovich isn’t discouraged.
“It gives us a better opportunity [to win championship] because we have higher competition and it gives us more of a chance to make a name for ourselves as a new team,” Rolovich said.
However, harder competition comes with harder work, and this conference change has been a sacrifice for the team.
Players said that they would rather go against more challenging opponents, even if it means giving up a few wins to learn more from the losses.
Junior cornerback Leo Mattiuzzo stated the changes that the league shift has had on the team and the effect on the players.
“At any given week we are playing a highly competitive team, so it makes a big difference in practice, as a team we work harder and it pushes us to another level,” Mattiuzzo said.
The recent league change hopes to unite the San Marin community due to the more competitive games. Peterson hopes that these games will prevent fans from leaving at half-time due to the engagement that the closer scores will draw in.
The energy of the crowd significantly affects the players as well.
“When the players know that the crowd is going to be packed, it gets them more excited for the game. It gives them more energy and helps them perform better on the field,” senior wide receiver Joey Cipollina said.
The team faced off in the first official league game on Oct. 10 versus Marin Catholic and will continue playing the rest of the league as the season progresses.
Senior wide receiver Wesley Timmel has high hopes for the year due to local support.
“I think everything is going to go up from here because we have a great community and a lot of support here,” Timmel said.
