My 'Losing' Article

The one I really didn't want to write .....

Exeter Loses Heartbreaker to Central Valley Christian

Monarchs are defeated in last game of league season 14-7

You can’t win them all, this too shall pass, it’s only a game, all good things must come to an end – pick a cliché, any cliché. They may all be true but they’re not much consolation when your heart has been broken. Friday night, Nov. 14, the fans from Exeter had their hopes of perfection crushed when their beloved Monarchs were defeated by the Cavaliers of Central Valley Christian. The spoilers of Exeter's perfect season weren’t necessarily the better team, just the better team on this particular night. The Monarchs of Exeter, the team that has built a formidable reputation for itself this season, was certainly not the team that showed up to do battle against the Cavaliers.

From the opening kickoff to the game-winning CVC touchdown in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, the Monarchs looked sluggish and off balance. Though Cameron Loeffler managed to gain 201 yards on the night and scored the only Exeter touchdown, he was consistently stalled in his attempts to gain yardage on key plays. The Cavaliers did what no team has been able to do this year; they got to Loeffler early and often.

As Coach White put it, “If you don’t block, you don’t win,” and the blocking was just not there.

It was a hard fought and highly defensive game and the two teams played pretty evenly statistically. Exeter had 256 yards of total offense with 200 on the ground while CVC had 252 yards of offense, 171 on the ground. Exeter was six for 14 passing for 56 yards. The Cavaliers gained 81 yards in the air completing three of 12 passes. Though Exeter recorded one interception in the second quarter when Pedro Saldaba stole a CVC pass in the end zone, the most costly statistic for the Monarchs was their own turnovers. Exeter gave up the ball five times on three interceptions and two fumbles – a record of sorts for this season and one the Monarchs would like to not repeat. In a game this evenly matched, with stingy defensive lines able to repel scoring opportunities, it was about four too many.

The Monarchs have been preaching and living Team all season long. The players that have entertained and thrilled us this year have done it as a whole, a team, not a cluster of individuals. Records have been broken, accolades accepted, wins celebrated, and through it all this group of athletes has remained an entity.

The team that won together is having to face the consequences of a crucial loss, together. A loss that ultimately cost the Monarchs sole league championship and the top seed in the playoffs. What they do in the next few weeks will be the true testimony of their character.

Vince Lombardi once said, “It’s not whether you got knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.” The fans that have come to appreciate this team through the ups and downs of this extraordinary season, the parents that have watched their boys grow into young men of strength and determination, and the coaches that have guided them along the way, believe that the Monarchs will get back up and play football the way they've been playing all year long, fearlessly.

The Monarchs are seeded No. 3 in Division IV and will host the Washington Union Panthers of Easton on Nov. 29 at 7pm.