Livingston football suffering early woes

Pre-season intensity is building, adding woes to 2007 Livingston High School Wolf Pack football.

Because of smoky air due to two fires in Northern California, Merced Union High School District Superintendent Robert Fore ordered local teams not to play any games outside.

Because of that, the Livingston Wolves football team headed up the hill to Bret Harte for an opening game that might have been better left unplayed. With a final score of 63-0, the Wolves came home to a disgruntled community that had been pumped up for a game that was to have been played at home. The team played tentatively and at times the players seemed disoriented. Only a few first downs were made, leaving scoring an impossibility. However, what the team faced on the mountain was nothing in comparison to what they would face at home. Already feeling the brunt of the searing loss, athletes came home to community members and even some high school staff making belittling and degrading comments regarding the team’s performance.

One can only imagine the comments that will be made this week as the Wolf Pack fell again, and hard this time, to Chowchilla in a 55-0 defeat. Against Chowchilla, quarterback Ryan Vieira made a 40-plus yard run in a touchdown attempt, but was stopped at the five yardline. AJ Duran rushed for 48 yards.

However, rushes were limited to two and three yard bursts as the Chowchilla Redskins were able to breakdown the Pack offensive line. Raymond Betancourt, in a fourth quarter effort, led the Wolves to several first downs. But the Redskins shutdown all scoring from the Pack. This week the Pack will host the Le Grand Bulldogs. Both teams have a 0-2 record.

Reporter Kathy Hibma can be reached at coachescorner@prodigy.net.