While students wandered around Cayucos during the annual beach trip, the junior varsity football team prepared to battle the Coast Union Broncos in the evening.

As the team stepped off the bus, the Eagles prepared to triumph. Sophomore quarterback Andrew McCormick recalls the game as a blur.

?I can just barely remember the details of the game,? McCormick said. ?We played some aggressive ball with some smash-mouth defense which helped us make it happen on offense. You could tell we wanted to win more and the results played out on the field.?

Lineman Tyler Revis, ?10, felt that the season was constructive for both the program and players.

?This season was very insightful and taught me many new lessons? Revis said. ?We were in all the games we played. The only problem was that we kept shooting ourselves in the foot because of stupid mistakes, but overall the season was a success.?

Last year, the football team coaches operated independently, conducting separate practices and meetings. This autonomy allow the JV players to bond and concentrate on skill development.

Head varsity coach Jon Hall, in an effort to direct the coaches’ and players’ energies on one aspect of the game, reintegrated the junior varsity and varsity staffs, creating separate defensive and offensive units.

This season, the coaches coordinated practice schedules which allowed the JV and varsity squads offensive and defensive instruction on a daily basis.

Since Varsity and JV players performed drills against teammates of comparable skill and size, the JV players received meaningful training and instruction instead of being used primarily as tackling dummies for the varsity. Prior to the ’06 season, the JV team did not receive significant separate instruction.

“When you compete against somebody who is a little stronger, it allows for players to improve,” Landon Martens, ’10, said. “It limits improvement when someone is much weaker than you are.”

With their 21-0 victory against the Broncos, the Eagles added another shutout to their 2007 campaign. At the end of the season the Eagles held a 3-5-1 overall record and 3-2 in league.

?I don?t like having 3-5 season at all,? Michael Fuller, head JV coach, said. ?We have to improve for the upcoming season.?

In the ?06 season, the JV Eagles finished the year with a 4-6 overall record, and 3-2 league record.

In the final game that season, played league rival Liberty High School, Madera Ranchos. The Eagles’ defense held the normally prolific home team to 8 points while scoring 2 touchdowns of their own and placed third in league.

“I remember laying out three kids during the game,” Martens said. “At the end of the game, Fuller gave us all hugs. It made me feel like I was his son.”

The final win, and the season-long emphasis on effort, teamwork and determination laid the foundation for the current JV campaign.

Liberty spoiled the Eagles final home game in ’07 with their win on Nov. 2.

“This year we lost the game because we made offensive and defensive mistakes,” Fuller said. “We were competitve, even though we didn’t have as many talented athletes as the other team.”

For the coaches and players the athleticism and dedication of these JV players offers a sense of optimism and promise for the future of Eagle football.