As the Thousand Oaks High School varsity football team warmed up for their first game of the season, TOHS students dressed in all green in preparation for the game.
Green Hole leaders, Justin Stanziano, Judah Weigel, Cole Whitman, Jordyn Daniels, Tate Downing and Miller Sturges rushed out of the Lancer tunnel with smoke flying and school flags in hand, hyping up the crowd as the football team followed in excitement.
The game resulted in a 42-0 lost against local rivals Oak Park High School, but spirits remained high among the students while watching the players give a solid fight. The first touchdown made by Oak Park roused disappointment in the stands, but the players grabbed the audience’s attention when they blocked the field goal, resulting in just a 6-0 lead. By halftime the score was 27-0, but the team fought on, and the Green Hole did not stop the spirit.
“I think being a Lancer means we have really good school spirit even though we might not always win, we always show up to the games and go hard no matter what,” junior Shelby Appice said.
This year the Lancer team has six seniors on the starting lineup, and Charlie Spencer, a sophomore, as the quarterback.
Junior running back and outside linebacker Michael Ostrow, caught the crowd’s attention with his guarding and runs, and the Green Hole chanted his name in encouragement.
“I got an outside zone run and I cut it back and got like 35 yards, that was really nice,” Ostrow said.
Ostrow sustained an injury in the third quarter resulting in the excitement he brought to the field to die down. However, senior slot receiver and defensive end Nick Allois aided in reviving the crowd’s spirit.
“The highlight of the game would be forcing two fumbles and recovering a third,” Allois said.
The Lancers play next at Newbury Park High School on August 30th. TOHS will get a chance to see the team back on their home turf Sept. 13, playing Saugus High School.
Although the game resulted in a loss for TOHS, the students sporting green wigs, face paint and cowboy hats came together as a family to support the team no matter the score. The players fought until the end, the crowd praised them for their efforts.
