Before moving on to tonight’s game against the Helix Highlanders, an Honor Bowl recap is in order.

Though the Dons didn’t have the outcome desired on the scoreboard, the Honor was not lost.

Twelve years ago, a high school football coach by the name of Mark Soto founded an organization named the Honor Group. He had two sons who played high school football and later enlisted in the armed forces. Both sons came back home, but dealt with PTSD and numerous injuries. Their sacrifices and bravery inspired Soto to create the Honor Group, and later partner up with the San Francisco 49er’s. Cathedral Catholic has proudly hosted this event for the past five years.

The Dons’ bout against Chandler wasn’t the only game for the Honor Bowl.

On Friday, September 2nd, Red Mountain from Mesa AZ played Mater Dei Chula Vista. On Saturday there were three games: Pittsburg CA vs Liberty, Henderson NV; Desert Vista, Phoenix AZ vs Madison, San Diego CA; and Regis Jesuit, Aurora CO vs Oaks Christian, Westlake Village CA.

With a score of 63-7, it was no easy battle for the Dons to compete in. As most of the members of the Cathedral community were aware of, Chandler was ranked 8th in the nation going into Friday’s game. Despite the score, the Dons had a few highlights with Jack Stevens 24’ connecting a touchdown pass to Max Bayles 23’ right before halftime. The defense also had some huge hits and picks, with Ty Cortes 24’ creating a toe-tap interception.

This Dons team is quite young compared to prior years. This will serve as both an advantage and disadvantage. The young core will be very solid with great experience for years to come. The inexperience is why Coach Doyle schedules such tough opponents such as Centennial, Chandler, and De La Salle. Doyle schedules these teams early in the season to build a tough backbone for the young players to go the distance. The difficult schedule will mold this team into a playoff contender.

Back to back tough losses will provide a spark for the Dons to bounce back tonight, September 9th, against the Helix Highlanders. This game provides an opportunity for the Dons to showcase their talent as still the top team in San Diego.