After last year’s challenging season, the football team is putting in the effort to secure wins and their place in the playoffs this upcoming season. 

“We have a wonderful group of student-athletes and they are working hard,” head coach Casey Webb said. “We have players returning from a team that didn’t necessarily have the win-loss success they were hoping to, so I think they are hungry and excited for the upcoming season.”

With a brand new offensive line, the boys and the coaches have put in more time on and off the field. 

“I think we have prepared well. We have worked hard day in and day out throughout the entire summer,” senior captain Nico Mastrippolito said. “We have bonded and created chemistry on the field and off and I think we are all looking forward to sharing the field with each other.”

Although the team has a resilient work ethic and chemistry, injuries and sickness have always been an obstacle. With many star players injured in the last season, the team wasn’t as strong as they had hoped.

“I think the biggest obstacle this season will be staying healthy because we are definitely a smaller school, so we don’t have as much depth as other schools do,” Mastrippolito said. 

All teams have strengths and areas for improvement, but the factors that drive the team are the goals. 

“My hopes for the season are to make it to playoffs,” senior captain Taylor Cruz. “We made it during the 2022-2023 season, but lost to San Jacinto. My goal is to make it back and make it even further than our predecessors.” 

With their first home game being the annual Kanan Bowl, the boys have been working since January to return the trophy back to OPHS.

“I think the Kanan Bowl is going to be a really important game for us because it’ll set the tone for the whole year,” senior captain Ethan Abergel said. “Last year we obviously didn’t achieve what we wanted to, but I think we prepared ourselves really well this year and we’re definitely ready to compete.” 

Come support the boys at the annual Kanan Bowl on Aug. 25.