On September 29, 2023, Redwood’s Varsity Football will head to Gropetti Community Stadium at 7:30 where they will take on rivals El Diamante Miners in their first game of EYL (East Yosemite League) play. Players Gabe Ward ’25, Marty Perez ’24, and Ricardo Razo ’25 give their thoughts on coming off of their bye week and how they plan on starting off their EYL season.
By: Cody Abney
The Ranger and Miner rivalry has been a thing for years. Gabe Ward, ’25, says that he “feels like there is a lot more pressure to do good this game just because of the rivalry.”
Ward is a Tight End and is one of the leading receivers on the team. The team has a strong playbook when it comes to blocking and pass-catching Tight Ends and Ward says that the team’s plan is to “just go out and do all the plays we practice at 100%.”
This week will also be the Miners Homecoming. The Rangers have extra motivation going into this game because of that and used the bye week to prepare and reconnect as a team.
Martin Perez, ’24, is a Center/Offensive Tackle for the Rangers and he says that he “feels as a team that we are ready, and them setting us as their homecoming has kind of lit a fire in us so I’m very excited to see how we go out there and play.”
Perez says that “the team took their bye week to work on fundamentals and to tune themselves up for not only this game but for all of EYL play.”
Perez says that the plan is to “dominate up front and let our great skill players do the rest of the work and our coaches have a great plan and I trust them fully to prepare us.”
The Ranger defense has been stout this year when it comes to disrupting the pass with pressure or finding ways to turn the ball over. The defense has been able to force 5 turnovers in 5 games and hope to replicate this in league play.
Ricardo Razo, ’25, is an Outside Linebacker for this team and he feels like the bye week “gave us momentum for this game and it helped us out a lot.”
Razo is excited for league play as he “likes the idea of being champs.”
Razo said that the plan to stop the Miner’s offense is to “stop the passing game and to have good execution on both sides of the ball.”
Redwood and El Diamante have a history of being a competitive rivalry as some players have no love lost for each other.
Perez says, “I am really excited for this game as I personally do not like any of the teams or their players. I’m excited to go out there and show them what Ranger football is all about and dominate the competition.”
Cody Abney
Cody Abney '25 is a second year writer for the Redwood Gigantea. He is interested in writing for the Sports and Arts and Entertainment. Abney is a very dedicated writer and specializes in feature pieces.
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