Tualatin High School’s football season is officially over and it’s time to reflect. The Tualatin varsity football team played 10 games in total, playing nine games in the regular season and one in the playoffs.
The team won six of the 10 games and lost three, winning against Jesuit, South Salem, Sherwood, Union, Oregon City and Tigard, and losing against Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, West Linn and finally Mountainside in the playoff game. JV ended the season 6-3 and the freshman team ended undefeated.
Although loved by the players, the students and many from the Tualatin community, the football months are over, and now it’s time to reflect.
“We had a lot of really good highs and some lows,” senior varsity player Calvin Evans said. “Our wins were blowouts – we won by a lot – and our losses were close, and we think we could have won them.”
Evans played as 1st team punter, 1st team kicker and 2nd team inside linebacker.
“Some of our biggest challenges were probably losing to Lake Oswego and Lakeridge, but we overcame that by believing in ourselves that we could have beat those teams,” Evans said. ”Every single one of us believed that we could have beat those teams even though we lost, or we have the ability to beat them. So we kind of built off that and took that mentality to the next games.”
Evans also noted the importance of a strong, supportive coaching staff.
“Our coaching staff is really good, taking feedback from the players and asking advice, asking what’s working and what’s not,” Evans said. “They were very responsive, and also just the coaches themselves were coachable.”
Evans has been playing for Tualatin since his freshman year and over the years he has seen a lot of his fellow teammates grow. This season is no exception.
“There’s a lot of guys that definitely developed throughout the year, and throughout the season we saw a lot of guys that had to step up, and that was really awesome to see.”
Evans plans to continue his football career into college but acknowledged that he will miss it here at Tualatin.
“I’ll miss Tualatin football. After losing our last game that kind of ended our season, I was reflecting a lot, and it’s like, as much as I love playing football here at Tualatin, I realize that I love playing with the guys at Tualatin even more. I guess that’s what I’ll miss,” he said.
“I’d like to say thank you to the Tualatin community, like the student section, and students for getting really involved and being energetic during the games,” sophomore Cole Hachmeister said. “They always show a lot of support at the games, through social media or even just at school.” Hachmeiester, who was a 2nd team running back, also reflected on the Tualatin football culture.
“It’s a very supportive community, and I look forward to next year. We all look forward to another opportunity to try and reach our goals and go as far as we can, and I look forward to how everyone will develop and how everyone will grow and get better in the off-season,” Hachmeister said.
As the final whistle blows on this season, it’s a bittersweet feeling. The seniors are moving on, and with them, the unforgettable Friday night lights and the grind of five-day-a-week practices. But while we say our goodbyes to this chapter, the excitement for next season grows stronger. Our football team is ready to play harder, push themselves further and forge even stronger bonds.
