Warriors' playoff run ends with loss to Mira Mesa

On Friday, November 16, the Fallbrook Warriors traveled to Mira Mesa to play in the first round of the CIF Division 1 playoffs.

The Warriors played good defense but lacked the ability to move the ball down the field. The score of the game was Mira Mesa 14, Fallbrook 0.

The team faced some adversity this week as a few starters were unable to play due to on- and off-the-field situations. The varsity team was happy to be given this opportunity to be in the playoffs and took advantage of this. The varsity coaches allowed many freshman and junior varsity players to come up in order to gain the experience of a varsity game.

The Warrior team was ready for action and played hard in their close loss. The Mira Mesa Marauders’ first score occurred after a questionable call by Fallbrook in which they kicked on third down, giving the Marauders great field position. They then sustained about a 35-yard drive, ending in the first touchdown.

At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors had a drive going highlighted by a 29-yard pass by Saber Youman to Marquis Sumpter, but a missed field goal kept the score 7-0.

The second quarter had solid defense until a long drive was sustained by the Marauders toward the end of the quarter. Mira Mesa took the majority of the time off the clock and capped off the drive with a score of 14-0 at halftime.

The second half included a few turnovers by both teams, caused by hard hitting by the defenses. The Warrior offense had a chance to fight back and looked like they were going to make a comeback, but a great pass rush by the Marauders hurried the quarterbacks and stopped the run of Fallbrook.

Overall, the Warriors, who have had a tough season, improved over last year as they gained a playoff spot and a few wins, but still are young and will improve over time. The team looks to have a huge improvement next year on their way to a goal of Qualcomm Stadium.