With only a few minutes left on the clock, varsity football was heading for a tough start to the season, trailing 29-14 in their game against Half Moon Bay High School on Friday, Aug. 29. But as the student section began to thin, the Panthers rallied, mounting a 15-point comeback to send the game into overtime.
Ultimately, Burlingame fell 35-32 to the Cougars. The game’s action, however, was far from one-sided, with both teams exchanging leads throughout.
The game started with the Panthers taking an early lead, thanks to a 15-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Nick Armstrong. However, the Cougars answered with three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 22-7 halftime lead, capitalizing on a fumble late in the second quarter.
“We came out swinging, we came out strong,” Nick Armstrong said. “But it was just the little things that we just didn’t execute on throughout the first half that sort of held us back.”
In the second half, senior running back Hayden Haba cut into the lead with a two-yard rushing touchdown. But the Panthers’ momentum stalled when a fumble in the red zone and a blocked punt resulted in a touchdown, extending the Cougars’ lead to 15 with only a few minutes left in the game.
“Everyone makes mistakes, it’s just part of the game,” sophomore receiver Luke Doss said.
Even as students began filing out of the stands, the Panthers mounted a late comeback, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Doss.
The Panthers didn’t stop there. After recovering an onside kick with just minutes remaining, Haba powered in a two-yard rushing touchdown and added a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime.
“We were playing freely,” Nick Armstrong said. “We had nothing to lose. We knew that, so we came out swinging, taking shots, and it paid off.”
In overtime, Half Moon Bay’s defense held Burlingame to a field goal, and on the next possession, the Cougars scored a rushing touchdown to win the game 35-32.
Even in the loss, the Panthers showed strong connections on the field. Nick Armstrong said he attributes his chemistry on the field with junior receiver Will Armstrong, who had seven catches for 102 yards in this game, to the fact that they’re brothers.
“We’ve been playing catch together since I don’t even know,” Nick Armstrong said. “So it’s just really fun to sort of see that shine through on a big stage.”
Nick Armstrong said the team needs to improve on the little things, like turnovers, but praised his teammates for controlling possession and moving the ball down the field. He added that, despite the loss, the game showed the character of the team.
“It shows resilience,” Nick Armstrong said. “It shows courage, and it shows just our greedy mentality, especially in the later half of the game. We have a special group.”
Nick Armstrong said head coach John Philipopoulos’ postgame message was to put this game behind them and focus on next week’s matchup against Palo Alto High School on Thursday, Sept. 4.
“We’re coming off a short week against a really good opponent, so again, we’re just going to have that ‘we got nothing to lose’ mentality,” Nick Armstrong said.
