The Cathedral Catholic Dons varsity football team kicked the 2011 season off with a 27-7 victory over the Steele Canyon Cougars. The Dons victory comes after Steele Canyon handed them a 35-12 loss at the start of last season.

An hour before kickoff, the Associated Student Body (ASB) hosted the first annual “Friday Night Lights” event that consisted of food, music, and games to get the Dons excited for the first game of the season. Snow cones, nachos, and a football toss were the most popular booths at the event. Other Cathedral organizations like Cathedral Cares and the Dons Alumni Association had booths in front of or near the library during the event.

The Dons, may have had the memory of their loss against Steele Canyon last year in their minds as they started this game because they came out ready to win. Led by junior quarterback Garrett Bogart, the Dons drove down the field on their first possession and ended it with a 20 yard touchdown run from junior running back Tony Johnson to quickly make the score 7-0 Dons.

The Dons defense followed up their first time on the field. On the Cougars very first play, senior quarterback Brad Boehmke, who threw 3 touchdowns with no interceptions in last year’s match up, threw a pick to senior defensive back Patrick Downing that was taken back for a touchdown.  This made the score 14-0 Dons before 5 minutes had expired.

On the next Dons possession, the boys fumbled the ball on their own side of the field; the Cougars swiftly recovered it. On their next drive, the Dons, again, lost a fumble on their own side of the field.

They recovered from their early ball maintenance issues on their next drive when they pounded the ball in from one yard out on fourth down with a Tony Johnson rush for a touchdown, making the score 21-0 Dons.

One of the defensive standouts was senior defensive lineman Casey Palid, who was in the face of the Cougars quarterback all night long, making it difficult for the offense of Steele Canyon to get the ball moving at all.