On Friday, Sept. 6, DGS lost to DGN 0-42 in the annual crosstown rivalry football game. An electric stadium environment produced a physical and aggressive game against DGN, who are ranked eighth in the state. DGS also began the game with junior Aidan Kanazawa making his first varsity start as quarterback.
“I came out here and I just looked around, got to listen to some stuff, and just soaked it in, and then got ready to go. It felt great. I have been told by many people that this was going to be amazing,” Kanazawa said.
Head varsity football coach Mark Molinari commented on Kanazawa’s debut.
“We believe in Aiden. Our guys rally behind him, he practices hard,” Molinari said.
DGN won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, leaving DGS to receive the ball. The intensity of the game was highlighted early on, as Kanazawa was hit into sideline equipment. Several minutes later a DGS fan was escorted out of the stadium for yelling at the coaching staff.
“They can hit me down. I don’t care, I’ll get back up. It’s a part of football; you’ll get hit hard, you just have to bounce back,” Kanazawa said.
A DGS fumble was recovered by DGN which gave them the opportunity to score the first touchdown of the game. The point after attempt was good, making the score 0-7 at the 6:47 mark. DGN scored another touchdown in the first quarter, establishing the score of 0-14.
“We wanted to run the ball, they did a good job of taking it away. We did not play our best football in the first quarter, and we gave them an easy score. You can’t do that to a good team,” Molinari said.
During the second quarter, DGN scored three touchdowns, the first one occurring after they gained yards from a personal foul and offsides penalties called on DGS. Senior running back Kayden Smith put up an offensive fight and gained the team 30 yards, but this didn’t stop DGN from scoring two more touchdowns with 5:04 and 1:51 left in the half respectively.
The first half ended with a score of 0-35.
DGS came into the second half of the game with a different offensive mindset and began passing the ball more, giving them more success. The defense also had a commendable performance with several plays that held DGN, including a sack in the third quarter.
“The score was out of hand a little bit, so we wanted to try to find a way to score, pass the ball a little bit. Try to let Aiden get a little bit more comfortable. It’s his first game playing varsity quarterback and this is a pretty high pressure situation,” Molinari said.
DGN scored their last touchdown with 8:42 left in the third quarter. The fourth quarter moved fast as a running clock was implemented. DGS got some momentum toward the end of the game with a series of strong defensive showings and a run that almost resulted in a touchdown.
After a final interception from DGN, the game ended with a score of 0-42.
“You either lose or you learn,” Molinari said. “I believe in our team; they’re willing to be coached. We have a long ways to go and our best football is well ahead of us.”
DGS will travel to take on York next week on Friday, Sept. 13.
