The Tigers look to bounce back from their first loss of the season.

The Delano Tigers took their first loss of the season this past Thursday night, falling to the North Stars 44-0. 

Struggling on both sides of the ball, the Tigers now face the challenge of regrouping against a Foothill team full of momentum after blowing out East High School 31-0 last week. (A team Delano beat in a shootout to begin the season) 

The most notable aspect of the game was the absence of junior quarterback DJ Huizar, who did not play. 

Huizar’s vacancy on the offensive end of the field was noticeable, as the Tigers failed to score even once during the loss. However, the team did manage to move the ball, 

“Last night was a tough one for us. We had moments where we moved the ball well, especially through the air utilizing our running back, Daniel Romero. However, our turnovers, sacks and missed assignments really hurt our momentum.” said head coach Frank Gonzalez.

On the defensive end of the ball the Tigers allowed 322 total yards and six total touchdowns. 

And while the team has usually come out on top while allowing large amounts of points, the offense not being able to subsidize opposing touchdowns meant that a blowout was imminent. 

“Defensively, we gave up too many explosive plays, and that’s something we’ll address right away in practice. We’ll learn from this, clean up the mistakes, and get back to work preparing for next week.” Gonzalez said. 

As the team travels to Foothill, they face an opponent coming off a dominant 31-0 win against an East team that Delano battled with. 

The Trojans enter the game with the same 2-1 overall record as the Tigers, but their +54 point differential dwarfs Delano’s -23. 

This doesn’t make Foothill a substantially better team, but it does show that they are a quality opponent that the Tigers have to play their best form of football to beat.  

The largest looming question for the Tigers however, is whether Huizar will be participating this week. While not specifically someone that carries the entire offense, his presence is an undeniable factor in the team's success. 

As their last game on the road in non-league play, this week’s matchup is an important test to see how Delano can respond after a lackluster showing the week prior.