After a 5-1 league record season, the James Logan football team made it into the North Coast Section (NCS) tournament ranks. On Friday, Nov. 14 the Logan Colts faced off against Rancho Cotate High School of Rohnert Park.
Before the game, the stadium held a moment of silence for Laney College athletic director and long-time Oakland football coach, John Beam, who passed away earlier the same day. After a stadium full of football fans paid their respects, the game began.
James Logan started the game on defense. After just a few minutes, Jacob Laday #5 on Logan, intercepted a long pass from the Rancho Cotate Cougars. “Our defense definitely stood out throughout the evening,” said Logan’s head coach Immanuel Pride. “[They] did a great job of forcing turnovers when the opportunity presented itself.”
In the second quarter, Rancho Cotate began to get quicker passes while on offense, managing to score before the end of the quarter leaving the field with a 0-10 advantage before the halftime whistle.
‘Our staff was always emphasized the importance of the process’
– Immanuel Pride, James Logan football head coach
In the halftime debrief, Pride said the goal for the team was “focusing on the task at hand.” Once back on the field, Logan started on the offensive position. Again the Colts got in front of the ball with an interception and ran the ball almost 40-yards to hold the Cougars for the time being. But at pivotal time in the fourth quarter, Rancho Cotate made an interception where the Cougar had an open lane down to the endzone. This left Logan at 0-17.
Despite this, Logan continued to push with little time left of the clock and even had a close call almost completing a touchdown with a long pass into the endzone, but the ball was not secured by the Colts. However, the Colts did manage to not leave their side of the scoreboard empty and fought for a touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter, closing the game out 8-24. This marks the end of the season for league winners James Logan.
Even with this loss the team had a year they could be proud of and their head coach continues to look ahead. “Their hard work paid substantial dividends in the form of a winning record, a league championship, and the first home playoff game in 11 years,” said Pride. “While we fell short on Friday, there is no doubt in my mind that we’ve laid the foundation for further success which includes success in the classroom, and in the greater community when we step foot off of Logan’s campus.”
Another Tri-City team also saw the end of their season on Nov. 14. Fremont’s Irvington High School faced a tough loss against Hayward High School, losing 6-45. Hayward High will face off with Granada High School on Friday, Nov. 21 on the East Bay team’s home turf.
