Entering the game with a league record of 1-6, the Scots were determined to take the win. Carlmont played Burlingame earlier in the season, which had resulted in a frustrating loss of 11-3 for the Scots, further contributing to their fight for a win.
Interpreting this, Burlingame came to the Scots field with a plan in mind. Knowing this would be a more competitive matchup than last time, the Panthers strived to first defeat the Scots mentally.
“A part of my strategy was mental, and I wanted to get in their heads. I feel like I was only somewhat successful, which was evidenced by a lot of unforced turnovers and the mid-game penalties,” said Burlingame Head Coach Logan Brown.
While Burlingame focused more on the mental game, Carlmont took a different approach and aimed to focus specifically on the fundamental and physical aspects.
“We had to be more physical than our last game. I think the team did a really good job of that in the first half, but as we started to get a little tired, the physicality began to fall off. That’s where things started to get separated,” said Carlmont Assistant Coach Mike Leavitt.
At the beginning of the game, things looked good for the Scots as they were the first to score. However, this was quickly combatted as it did not take long for the Panthers to turn things around and take the lead. The first quarter ended 3-2, with the Panthers ahead.
The Scots maintained their fight throughout the second quarter, only allowing the Panthers to score twice, bringing the score to 5-2 at halftime.
As the game continued to drag on, the Panthers took advantage of the tiredness seen in the Scots’ gameplay and increased their lead. The Panthers kept a comfortable lead throughout the last two quarters and secured a win of 12-5.
While the outcome was not what the Scots were looking for, their game performance and perseverance significantly improved from last time.
“This game was much better than the last time we played against Burlingame. Even though the scoreboard didn’t reflect that, we played so much better,” said senior Sebastian Avants Hagan.
Despite the extra fight seen on behalf of the Scots, Burlingame kept up and stayed strong.
“I knew that Carlmont was going to be coming out harder and with more purpose than they did in our last game. I know that Carlmont has the capacity, strength, athleticism, and skill set that if we were not on our A game, we would lose painfully,” Brown said.
With just a few games left in the season, the Carlmont Scots will continue their journey of tough matches in their last home game against the Menlo-Atherton Bears on Monday, May 1st.
