The MacDonald Condors are on the board.
The brand-new varsity football program, playing this season without any seniors, claimed its first-ever victory at the varsity level with a 41-34 decision over Mills at MacDonald High School in North San Jose.
“I’m feeling great,” said MacDonald head coach Burt Codera. “It was good to get the monkey off our back. It was special. It was good to do it in front of our home crowd, and the kids, they earned it. We were happy. We were relieved.”
MacDonald is in its third year as an open high school, and its oldest players are juniors who entered the brand-new school as freshmen two years ago.
Junior quarterback Moussa Fall led the way for the Condors, completing 8 of 11 passes for 171 yards and tossing three touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Dominic Hunt returned a kickoff for a 75-yard touchdown as well.
Junior WR/DB Ethan Bugarin caught four passes for 113 yards and all three passing TDs. Junior running back Dominic Ortega ran for 82 yards on four carries.
MacDonald’s Ethan Bugarin (4) makes a catch against Santa Clara’s Daniel Rojina (13) in the second quarter at MacDonald High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 30, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“We’ve really gotten a little bit better each week,” Codera said. “Try to focus on a few things, and we’ve seen the improvement every single week.”
After a 40-0 loss to Santa Clara to open the season, MacDonald has been making strides game by game. The Condors lost 28-0 to Lowell the following week, then scored their first-ever touchdown in their Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division opener, a 35-6 loss at Monta Vista.
After an idle week, MacDonald scored twice in a 41-14 defeat against Jefferson. And this week, the Condors put it all together, taking down Mills by a score at home.
“Each week, we just felt them become a little bit more comfortable,” Codera said. “There were a few games that we were close for three quarters, and then the wheels kind of fell off.
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“But last night, we led the entire game. We scored first, and so we had never been in that situation. We stayed one step ahead of them in all three phases of the game, made plays on special teams, defense, offense. It was an overall team victory.”
The win is proof of concept for what Codera is trying to build, and he hopes it’s not the last one the Condors pick up this season.
“It just boosts morale,” Codera said of the victory. “All of a sudden, people start believing. After a little while, you start questioning everything we’re doing. But you stick to the script and keep working, and then just get better each week.
“Sometimes the ball bounces your way and you score more points, and sometimes it doesn’t. We’re still underdogs, but I think we’re going to have a couple more chances.”
MacDonald head football coach Burt Codera, center, leads a cheer before their first varsity game against Santa Clara High School at MacDonald High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 30, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
MacDonald’s Dominic Ortega (22) runs with the ball against Santa Clara High School in the first quarter at MacDonald High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 30, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
MacDonald’s Kasen La Follette (70) and MacDonald’s Dom Hunt (5) listen to MacDonald head football coach Burt Codera in the locker room before their first varsity game against Santa Clara High School at MacDonald High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, August 30, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
