Written by: Brysen Norris, Staff Writer
BOUNCING BACK: Riverside Unified School District football teams returned to competitive leagues after quarantine.
Since COVID forced schools to shut down, sports have been a big question. No one could guess who would do well since there had been such a big break. While some schools performed poorly, others rose to the occasion and outshone the rest.
Starting off the list was the California School for the Deaf Riverside. They were ranked number 7 in all of California, and 343 in all of America. CSDR not only went all the way to the championships in CIF, they did it with a 23 man roster, while usually a high school roster has around 40 to 50 players. CSDR had an almost undefeated record standing at 12-1 with a 0.92 win percentage, and 3-0 in their league. Their biggest win was against Desert Christian High School, crushing them 84 to 12.
The next team was John W. North High School, who finished their season with an 11-1 record and went 4-0 in their league. Like CSDR, North also had a .92 win percentage. North’s biggest win was against Valley View, beating them 54 to 7, and holding them to only one touchdown the entire game. North was ranked 110 in California, and had 84 players on their roster.
Next up was the Ramona Rams, the Rams ended their season 10-2 overall, and 4-1 in their league. They had a .82 win percentage and their biggest win was against the Valley Christan Defenders, beating them 42-13. The Rams are ranked 205 in California. Brett Mosher, a teacher at Ramona had this to say about their season: “I’m happy that we were able to beat three teams that were a division above us.”
Last but, certainly not least, was our very own Riverside Poly High School. Poly went 7-5 overall and 3-1 in their division. Poly’s biggest win was 49-22 against Baldwin Park. Defensive Back Maulichi Koch says “We did good. I’m proud of my team this year. We obviously came up short in the end, but I’m proud of our progress.”
Overall, the resilience and dedication shown by RUSD’s football athletes is admirable. There is excitement in the air for next year’s season.