Football Falters Against Choate

Choate Rosemary Hall traveled to Exeter on Saturday to take on the Big Red varsity football team in their first home game of the season. While Choate came into the game with the momentum of a 23-game win streak, Exeter’s squad was eager to snatch their first win. However, the game proved to be a disappointment as Choate routed Exeter 49-0.

After a slight change in schedule, the teams faced off at 6:15 p.m. with Choate starting off with possession. Not long after, Choate managed to find the endzone in the first two minutes of play, followed by another three touchdowns in just the first quarter to extend their lead to 28-0. In the second quarter, Exeter allowed two more touchdowns, putting Choate up 42-0 at the end of the half.

“We’re not focused on our past games. We’re focused on the next one: Loomis.”

Exeter received the ball to start the second half, and while the team’s offense began to pick up momentum, it still fell short of scoring. Exeter’s defense stepped up during the second half, holding Choate to only one additional touchdown.

Despite the loss, senior and captain David O’Donnell was pleased with his team’s performance. He felt it was important to consider that Choate is the top team Exeter will likely face all year.  “Even though the scoreboard didn’t show it, we fought just as hard as they did. I’m proud of how everyone played last night,” he said. “Choate has an incredible football team. We weren’t outplayed, we were just outmatched. There’s not much more we can do when everyone is putting in 110%.”

Senior and captain Jack Farrell also had similar sentiments adding, “We were prepared to work hard and I think we did work hard.”

Moving forward, O’Donnell saw the team’s defense as the most crucial area for the team to improve. “So far we have been giving up too much yardage to the other team. Once we stop them on defense it will allow our offense to get on the field score some more points.” he said. Still, O’Donnell believes it is pertinent that the team comes together to “play as one” in order to find success. “We are going to keep our heads up and focus on this upcoming Saturday...In order to win next week, we will need to have a great week of practice. After that, our team will need to come together and play as one. I think the game against Choate prepared us for the rest of the season. We saw how strong a football team they were and where we need to be,” he said.

The team has now shifted their sights to their upcoming game against Loomis Chaffee. Loomis recently beat Andover 20-10, so a victory against them would not only give the team momentum heading into the coming weeks, but could also bode well for a Big Red win during this year’s E/a. However, Farrell maintained that past records are of no importance as the only game that matters is the next one. 

“A win against any team in our league is a success, no matter who they’ve played,” he said. “We’re not focused on our past games. We’re focused on the next one: Loomis.”