COS Football finishes regular season on a high note:

Last Saturday, the COS Football team played a home game against Contra Costa, and won 43-24. The Giants ended the regular season 6-4,  guaranteeing them a bowl game. COS will find out its opponent this upcoming Sunday.

During the first quarter in the Contra Costa game, both teams managed to score only once, with COS' touchdown, an 8 yd run from Danny Olivera (Firebaugh), coming with a missed extra point to end the first quarter down 7-6.

However, that script was flipped onto its head in the second quarter and beyond. After being down 14-9 with six minutes to play in the first half, a rushing touchdown from Nathan Lamb (Tulare Union) put the Giants in the lead 16-14, from which they never looked back. "Nate read the defense on fourth and one from mid field. We called a QB sneak to try and pick up the first down. Nate saw the defense crowded over our center, he took the ball outside of the tackle and ran it for 39 yards. It was a huge spark for our team," said COS Head Coach Travis Burkett. One the ensuing kickoff, Tokyo Gordon recovered a fumble for the Giants, and took it for another 41 yard touchdown. The Giants led at halftime 23-14.

For passing, Nathan Lamb connected on 13 of his 21 attempts, totaling 189 yards and two touchdowns. Lamb also rushed for 56 yards including his touchdown. 

After the game, head coach Travis Burkett commented on how his players have performed throughout this season, "You know the biggest thing that I hope our fans see, is that we have a bunch of players who respect the process, who love and learn to love the process."

For rushing, players Danny Olivera and Tairyn Johnson (Tulare Western) both had over 10 carries with over 50 yards, and Olivera led the duo with 61 yards on 13 attempts.

Three separate players had over 20 receiving yards, those being Tairyn Johnson with 27, Anthony Valencia with 25, and Willie Neal Jr. (Fort Myers) with an astonishing 131, making up the bulk of reception yardage on the day.

Six COS defensive players recorded a tackle for a loss including Dorrian Felix (Fort Myers), Tokyo Gordon (Adairsville), Michael Gary (Fort Myers), Isaak Guzman (Porterville), Isaiah Jackson (Tulare Union), and Aaron Moreno (Selma). Gordon and Gary recorded sacks as well.

When asked about the upcoming bowl game that to be determined, Coach Burkett responded,  "We gotta get healthy. I mean we play a physical brand of football, we practice hard and train hard. We need to get healthy, we need to get fresh, then we need to get ready."

Spencer Beair, COS Athletics