Football

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Football fires it up on the field

Karyss Amato Staff Writer

Football fans are excited for the return of the Saturday night lights of NPHS football, which began March 20. A er the rst games on March 20, the junior varsity went against Bishop Garcia Diego High School and varsity went against TOHS, with a small crowd and cheerleaders. “It was really fun and nice to be back out and be able to play, and be able to play with at least some fans in the stands,” Taggart said. While both players and cheerleaders are returning to the eld, the season will be modi ed to comply with capacity guidelines. Per each cheerleader and player, four immediate household members can be in the crowd.

With COVID-19 restrictions, the football team has faced many struggles that required the team to problem solve. In order for the team to play, it is a requirement that they be tested every week before games. Despite these extra precautions, Luke Taggart, junior, is looking forward to playing for the rst time in over a year. “We’ve been waiting for a whole year, so there’s a lot of good emotions going into the season because we can nally play,” Taggart said.

Normally, the team kickstarts practices throughout the summer, but due to the pandemic, the team was unable to do so. Jason Klein, the head football coach, has helped the team stay motivated and persevere. “ ere is some concern there, like are these guys going to be prepared and ready to go, but beyond that ...these guys have worked really hard, they know what they’re doing so we’re excited to get started,” Klein said.

As of right now, ve games are scheduled to happen, with three being home games. e games are scheduled on Saturdays, with the junior varsity/ freshman teams at 4 pm and varsity team at 7 pm. e football team, as well as the cheer team have been putting in conscientious e ort to prepare for this season. Megan McCarthy, the cheer coach, is very fond of all the cheerleaders and feels con dent that they will perform at their best, despite all that they have faced and overcame with COVID-19. “We’ve been waiting all season long so above everything, everyone is really excited but also just ready for this,” McCarthy said. e season has been hard for both the football players and cheerleaders, but with ten months worth of practice, perseverance and hard work, their coaches feel con dent in them. With the pandemic, they have experienced going back and forth between Zoom and pods in person, which de nitely presented a challenge.

Only the players, coaches and medical personnel on the eld and sidelines, with cheerleaders on the track, and limited crowd members in the stands will be present. Dance team is also allowed to perform at hal ime, as well as cheer. “We usually have a packed house here at NP for our home games but it’s going to be a lot quieter,” Klein said.

Kickoff- The Panthers kick off football season on March 20 despite all the obstacles they have faced with COVID-19. “The teams’ goals is, you know, to just win... to go 5 and 0 and hang up a banner,” Travis Endicott, sophomore and quarterback for the junior varsity team, said. Madison Klein/With Permission NPHS soccer returns to balling out

Sera Mohammad Staff Writer

As Ventura County enters the red tier, soccer has begun having games with other schools again. NPHS girls soccer had their rst league game of the year against Oaks Christian on March 19, where NPHS lost zero to one. Both girls and boys soccer teams will have weekly games from now on as they have in the past. e soccer teams have been working to create a new normal so that students can play while keeping themselves and spectators safe. Natalie Hurd, senior on the girls varsity soccer team, re ected on how di erent the games and practices have been this past year. “At practices we have to wear a mask at all times and try to maintain our distance from one another. At games we also wear masks while warming up, but we are allowed to take them o while playing but everyone on the sideline and bench must wear masks,” Hurd said. “We are also required to get a negative test the week of games before we are allowed to play and the amount of people on the buses to games is limited.”

Preparing for the upcoming soccer season was not easy, especially since practices were cut down in comparison to previous years. Jackson Cornett-Coert, senior and captain of boys varsity soccer, explains the old, more rigorous schedule and how the team works now during the pandemic. “We are practicing as much as we can but usually on Mondays and Wednesdays. In past years we would practice every weekday but because there are so many sports using the eld, there is not enough eld availability for us to practice every night,” Cornett-Coert said.

Even with reduced practice at school, participating in soccer in addition to online school and other activities is nowhere near easy. Chava Orozco, the girls varsity soccer coach, has been coaching for eight years and cares for each of his players’ health and development. “I think this season will be a challenging one. Players are participating in both high school soccer and club soccer and also playing multiple sports at NP. is makes a risk for injury more likely to happen,” Orozco said. “We are doing our best to manage the girl’s workload throughout the week. Our main priority is to keep everyone healthy throughout our season.”

While the season may look di erent, the seniors are thankful that they will get another chance to ball out on the eld. “I would just like to thank the coaching sta for everything they have done for getting us prepared for our games. Most of us were very scared we would not get a nal season and I know there are many people we have to thank for that. I would also like to thank my team for stepping up and playing their hearts out,” Cornett-Coert said.