Soccer team will travel for third CIF game

By Kate Viramontes, Sports Editor

Hoping to win its third CIF game this season, the boys soccer team will travel to Manhattan Beach on Friday to play Mira Costa High School (14-1-4, 5-0) at 5 p.m. The Mustangs finished first in the Bay League.

The Indians (18-2-1, 9-1) will need to stop Mira Costa forward Thomas Temperley (#17), who leads his team in goals. The Mustangs are ranked No. 4 in California. The Indians are ranked No. 42.

Mira Costa will try to stop Fullerton senior Misael Gonzalez. “[Opponents] always at least double team Misael,” junior Daniel Frausto said. “So he just has to quickly distribute the ball with, like, one touch to our strikers to get the ball around.”

Senior Garrett Eikermann says they’re ready: “I think for us, we’ve been learning how to press teams early off of their goal kick and trap them in their third of the half so that we have better chances to score.”

In the first round of CIF, the Indians defeated Newport Harbor 3-1 on Feb. 11. Eikermann scored the first goal off a pass from Bryan Izguerra. Junior Andrew Macias followed with another goal and junior Kenneth Flores had the third.

“It felt pretty good to have an early lead and kept pushing through to the end and got two more goals,” Eikermann said. “And then even when they scored on us we didn’t let up and I don’t know we just kept pushing through to the end.”

The Indians won their second CIF game 3-2 against Cathedral on Feb. 15. Halfway into the first half the boys were ahead when senior Marcus Yonas scored off a penalty followed by another goal from both teams. The game was stopped due to sudden lightning and a hail storm. 

The players had to re-warm up before the game resumed 30 minutes later. The conditions were not optimal. “The field was a mess even though it was turf,” Eikermann said. “All the way to the end it was a crazy game.”

The Indians went into the second half with a 2-1 lead and senior Matt Ballin scored the final goal. “Matt scored for us and it was an insane goal. It was probably one of the best goals ever scored this season,” Eikermann said. “We were all cramping up, it was crazy. They had a free kick on the last play of the game. Sidelines were yelling, fans were yelling, players were yelling, it was intense. The kid missed the free kick and the ref finally blew the whistle. It was crazy.”

Basketball team to play CIF quarterfinal Friday

By Reagan Glidewell, Staff Writer

Advancing to the CIF quarterfinal round, the boys basketball team will play host to San Dimas High School on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Fullerton Gym. This season is the first time since 2008 that the team has qualified for CIF play.

The Indians, who finished third in the Freeway League, head into the game as underdogs with the Saints (21-5, 8-2) ranked No. 5 in the Southern Section Division 4 and the Indians ranked No. 24. The Saints finished first in the Valle Vista League.

The Indians won their first CIF playoff game on Feb. 11 against Santiago High School. Junior Josiah Reed had 15 points and senior Ezekiel Yousling had 12. Junior Christian Hubbard said the team watched film to prepare for its game against Santiago (9-1) who finished first in the Garden Grove League. “We knew what kind of offense they ran, who their best players were and all of that,” Hubbard said. “There was one kid who could shoot really well, so we  knew when he had the ball, we had to close out really hard on him and not let him get the shot.”

The team won its second round CIF game on Feb. 15 against Rio Mesa 62-45. Hubbard led the Tribe with 22 points followed by Reed with 17 and senior Zane Mustafa with 12.

Despite losing their final two Freeway League games, the  Indians finished the regular season in third place behind Sonora (9-1) and Sunny Hills (7-3). In their final league game on Feb. 3, Fullerton lost to Sunny Hills 70-58. Hubbard led the Tribe with 21 points and 8 rebounds followed by Mustafa with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

In a close battle against Troy on Feb. 1, Hubbard had 18 points followed by Mustafa with 11 in the Indian’s 52-51 loss. Hubbard was also named player of the game.

Yousling says they’re always reflecting on ways to improve. “I think free throws are a big thing. We went 0-4 the last quarter [against Troy] and if we would have hit those, then we would have won the game,” Yousling said. “Just making the easy shots and doing all the little things.”

As a senior, Yousling will soon be ending his Fullerton basketball experience. “It shouldn’t matter about what grade I’m in. I think we should play every game like it’s our last,” Yousling said. “Always just push to be the best. We shouldn’t be pushing to be the best at the last game. We should be pushing from the beginning of the season to the end.”

Girls Water Polo

Wrestling