A sea of neon covered the stands as the Sandie faced off against Midland Legacy for the first home game of the season on Aug. 25. During the first half both teams played competitively until Midland pulled away and secured the win, 35-7.
This game featured some powerful plays by both teams. The Sandies fought hard despite the fact they were against a large 6A team. Midland Legacy’s running back Gilbert Hernandez scored the first touchdown of the game. The Sandstorm quickly counteracted the touchdown with their own score by running back Pius Vokes, making the score 7-7.
“I felt beyond overjoyed that God gave me an opportunity like that, to celebrate with my teammates and just be able to feel the appreciation of the gift to play,” Pius Vokes said.
In the second quarter, Legacy spiced things up with a perfect throw from Marcus Davilla to take the lead 14-7. Team captain Rylan Leathers received the following kickoff and scored the touchdown to make the score 14-14. As celebration ensued, the referees called the touchdown back stating that Leathers went out of bounds at the thirty-yard line. The Sandies decided to go for the extra point however, Midland blocked the field goal attempt and kept the momentum, ending the game with a 35-7 victory.
“It was a hard-fought game, we knew that they were a good team coming in and I think defensively we answered the bell better than expected,” safety Rylan Leathers said. “Obviously I was bummed out that I didn’t get the touchdown but I felt that I put our team in a great position to finish the half off.”
Despite the loss, the team took this game as a learning experience to prepare and improve for upcoming games.
“I think we showed some toughness, we were not afraid to play 6A competition,“ defensive coordinator Tony Cavalier said. “We are super proud of our guys, we are gonna take this game and run with it.”