Little Big Game is the most widely anticipated game of the year—drawing large crowds and even larger amounts of school spirit. Playing against our rival Burlingame on November 8th, this Bearcat victory meant the 3rd year in a row we’ve won, keeping the Paw on our home turf.
With a dramatic score of 24-14, the game was an impressive win, with the Bearcats leading the entire game. Not only did San Mateo’s Varsity Football team win their game, but the Junior Varsity Football team and Varsity Flag Football team also won their games in the same week. Senior Captain and Quarterback Lukas Fitzgerald called this week of wins “history for the school.”
Senior Captain and Lineman Kai La Grille adds that winning Little Big Game has “always been one of our goals since the start of the season, probably every season for Bearcat football is to beat Burlingame—and we were able to cross off that goal with this victory.” La Grille also mentions that it’s a great way to end off his senior year and keep this train going.
This win was also meaningful to Fitzgerald. He says that this victory “felt pretty good, especially for me because this is my first year as a starter. It felt like I was actually able to accomplish something on my own, rather than just being a backup like I was last year.”
Overall, both captains said the game went well, highlighting how the team’s chemistry and preparation paid off in such a high-pressure rivalry matchup. There were some noteworthy plays and moments both Captains mentioned that heavily contributed to the outcome of the game. In the late fourth quarter, La Grille mentions a great play by Tyce Copus, who deflected Burlingame’s pass when they had a huge fourth-down. For Fitzgerald, he had a pass to Sergio Oliveros in the third quarter that he thought really helped change the momentum of the game offensively— building up steam to win the game.
Apart from specific plays and moments, overall, Fitzgerald said that what made the biggest difference in the team’s victory was their “cohesion as a team”, adding that “we worked really well together, and just the bond that we have, it pushed our play to another level.” La Grille adds that “I would say we have a lot of skilled guys and we’re all very close to each other, it’s like a brotherhood that we have going on, we really just wanna win for each other.”
The preparation for Little Big Game didn’t just start this season in August, it started all the way back in January during off season practices. Fitzgerald adds that “[Little Big Game] has always been in our minds since we start practicing— every rep we do, every practice that we have, that’s kind of always in our vision. So we put everything we have in practice day in and day out and we get outcomes that we want.”
The result of all this work is a high-spirited game where viewers unite and cheer on the Bearcats! Freshman Victoria Bijasa calls the game “really suspenseful, because we were tied two different times. There was so much energy from everyone, the student section stands were packed.”
Coach Scheller of the varsity football team adds that these players are a part of a “historic moment”, since it’s been around 50 years since there were at least 3 Little Big Game wins in a row. Regardless of whether or not you enjoy watching football, this game made everyone feel proud to be a Bearcat.