By Kaylee Rivera
On November 1st, the El Diamante Miners battled against the Golden West Trailblazers in the 20th Anniversary of the Battle for the Saddle matchup at the Groppetti Stadium. The Miners haven’t had the saddle home in two years and many were hoping that this was the year it would be the one where it would get returned. However, the Miners unfortunately lost with a tough score of 0-62.
Miners were home this year, and the stands were packed full of fans watching with excitement. To start the game, the Trailblazers kicked off to the Miners. The Miners were unable to make a drive against the Trailblazers and gave Golden West a chance to score. Golden West’s quarterback had the first touchdown of the game with a 20-yard run. This run fueled Golden West and the Miners were unable to stop them in the first quarter.
With a score of 0-24 going into the second quarter, the Miners needed a drive of their own but the Trailblazers were too overpowering. To start the second quarter Golden West completed a touchdown pass, PAT, and a field goal to bring the score to 0-34. They continued to break through the Miners defense throughout the second quarter. With one minute left in the quarter, the new score was 0-55 after Golden West’s touchdown. They tried to complete a two-point conversion however the Miners were able to get a stop, ending the first half with a score of 0-55.
The first half was rough, agreed both offensive lineman Beau Cooper and defensive back Michael Pama. Pama expressed, “I felt bad for the seniors because that was it for them.”
However, in the second half, the Miners turned it around defensively as Cooper stated, “I feel like in the second half, [Golden West] scored a lot less and that was just because everyone was locked in a bit more.”
To start the third quarter the Trailblazers successfully reached the end zone and completed a PAT, bringing the score to 0-62. Unlike their dominance in the first half, Golden West was unable to put up any more points on the scoreboard.
With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Miners had possession of the ball. They tried to make their way down the field and into the endzone but sadly failed, leaving the game without a saddle, a game score of 0-62, and a record of 1-9.