Friday, September 12, was our annual homecoming football game. The crowd was full of energy, anticipation, and excitement to see how the game would turn out! Barlow worked hard in preparation for the game against our favorite rivals. According to Barlow’s football coach, Steven Andreen, “Gresham has a very mobile quarterback,” which was a challenge our team had to consider when training for the big day.
Starting the first quarter, Gresham was in the lead. With eight minutes left, Gresham scored. At six minutes left on the clock in the first quarter, Barlow ran in for a touchdown and made an extra point. Gresham did not succeed in getting a first down with four minutes left; however, neither did Barlow, so the score remained 7-7. Football player Brody Seibel stated, “It was a big game for us and we needed a winning mindset.” The audience and team had hope and kept spirits high going into the next quarter.
With eight minutes left in the second quarter, Gresham scored again, this time by running the ball in, earning them another point. With six minutes left on the clock, Barlow scored another touchdown! Coach Andreen was proud and felt that with each touchdown was a breakthrough. Barlow went crazy as Gresham dropped the ball on third down with four minutes left in the quarter. Audience member Emma Amperse exclaimed, “I got so excited when Gresham fumbled that!” Barlow fumbled, giving Gresham the ball, and Gresham made a field goal with 30 seconds left in the half, leaving the score at 14-17 at halftime, but there was still time for Barlow to put themselves ahead. During halftime, football player Brody Seibel thought, “We need to pick it up,” which was very valid if Barlow wanted to win.
Kicking off the third quarter, Barlow scored a touchdown! They went for two extra points and successfully made it, putting the score at 22-17! With six minutes left on the clock in the third quarter, Barlow went for another two-pointer and got it again! Now the score was set at 30-17. In the last three minutes of the quarter, Barlow sacked Gresham’s quarterback on third down, turning the ball over. The third quarter ended with a score of 30-17.
Throughout the fourth quarter, none of the teams had made another point, leaving it at 30-17! Barlow had won yet again, for the 13th year in a row. Football coach Steven Andreen was asked about what contributed to Barlow’s win, and he said, “I think we played a very complete game, and every group did a really good job, and contributed really well.” Coach Andreen also mentioned how he thought that the offensive line really came together that week and played their best game by far. Barlow and Gresham have played the Homecoming football game 57 times, and in recent years, Barlow has been the winner of those games. Winning is definitely the cherry on top of the exciting Homecoming football night, and this year’s was one Barlow will never forget.
