After months of practice and preparation, the Spartans football season began with a season opening loss against Fort Zumwalt East, with a score of 34-20. The team squandered several opportunities in the red zone, much to the dismay of players and coaches alike.

The third quarter was the main culprit for the red zone woes. The team moved the ball efficiently to the 20, before the offense stalled on three straight plays. The team went for it on fourth down, and failed, giving the ball back to East. On the next East drive, senior cornerback Brandon Jefferson intercepted an errant pass, giving the ball back to the Spartans with an ideal scoring opportunity. The team found it’s way back to the red zone, and again, failed to convert on fourth down.

“It’s execution. We have to score points when we are in the redzone,” senior defensive end and team captain Jeff Desir said. Although the Spartans missed out on two consecutive red zone opportunities, the blame didn’t fall entirely on the offense.

“Our defense couldn’t wrap up. We couldn’t tackle anybody,” Desir said.

Simple execution problems led to the defense getting gashed for 34 points, but Desir believes the issues the team had Friday night are easily correctable.

“We can’t have any collapses. We have to wrap up and we’ll be better,” Desir said.

The team will get their next shot this Friday at home against Fort Zumwalt South (1-0) at 7 p.m.

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