Another football season has finally come to an end for the Ayala Boys Football team. A season of ups and downs, new opponents and similar foes, as well as hardships and achievements. Ayala’s 2024 season was one for the books, and one that students will remember for better or for worse.
The start of the season for the Bulldogs held high expectations, as Ayala had received new turf on the field and a brand new scoreboard, giving a more lively and future look for the team. Although their first game was away, it didn’t hinder them in the slightest, beating Colony on the road to go up 1-0. The next week was a memorable endeavor for the Ayala program, as they hosted Desert Pines High School, a team out of Las Vegas. This win, on a Saturday evening, put them up 2-0, continuing a dominant look for the Bulldogs going into their next week.
“Those two weeks were great. We beat the team from Nevada, which was a really big accomplishment for us. We’ve never done anything like that, and it was just a really great feeling for all of us,” said Varsity Captain Dominic Williams (12).
By the third game of the season, with morale and hopes high for another powerful season, things had seemed to stray away from the team. This would mark the beginning of their tough schedule, one of the toughest put together schedules in all of Southern California. In a matter of two weeks Ayala had lost three straight games, going down to 2-3 entering their bye-week. Morale was low, but now was no time to slouch, because after their bye week was the most anticipated game in the city, Battle of the Bone.
“Going into the bye-week, we were getting prepared for the biggest game of the year. We were working out really hard in the weight room. We were practicing hard. We were getting prepared to win the Battle of the Bone, but that didn’t work for us this year,” said Kicker Jaden Hernandez (11).
Going into Battle of the Bone week, with tensions high between both schools, it was certain that the game would mark shifts in both teams’ seasons. Ayala looked to hold the bone for a seventh year, as well as shifting the tide of a three game losing streak. Their opponents, the Chino Hills Huskies, looked to bring the bone back home and continue their dominant winning streak. Though the game did slip away from the Bulldogs in the end, it did mark a shift and realization within the entire team. The bone not only saw a move ownership for the first time in seven years, but it experienced the beginning of Ayala’s ventures into one of the toughest leagues in the Southern District, the Baseline.
“I felt goosebumps. I felt really excited to go against good players, good teams, and some real competition. I was ready, and I think the team was too,” said Offensive Lineman Dominic Galvan (10).
A difficult schedule, a difficult league. The Bulldogs were thrown into the inferno, fighting their way through tough opponents. With this six team league, including Ayala, being rather different from their four team league the previous years, it was also the tension of winning league games that were put onto the load of the Bulldogs. Though the record might not prove it, the Bulldogs fought hard in every league match-up while cutting some games close and letting some slip away, but fighting to the end in each one. By their final league contest, Ayala had gone 0-5 in league, placing last in the Baseline.
“I think we held up a pretty good fight against a lot of the top teams in our division and or in the Baseline. I thought we did pretty decently since it was our first year. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we still put up a good fight,” said Williams.
Though a difficult season for the Bulldogs, the hard work, sweat, and tears put into their game shouldn’t go unnoticed. With a large senior class now leaving, the Bulldogs look to bounce back next season, facing similar foes and the same intense scheduling as before. A rather lackluster season on paper does not truly show what Ayala is capable of. But, as with all seasons, players graduate and move around, marking the end of the era of this group of Bulldogs and their journey together as a team.
“We ended the season off going into playoffs losing, but we also had a smile on our face. It was a great group of guys, we all had a good relationship with each other, and we were always smiling no matter if we lost or won,” Hernandez said. “That was special.”
