Sixth months ago the Alameda Unified School District explored the possibility of combining the Island’s two public high schools. Last Friday’s rivalry between Alameda and Encinal high schools reminded the community that the Island Bowl is a tradition worth keeping. 

The 65th Island Bowl wasn’t as close as last year’s matchup, but there were still fireworks between the Hornets and the Jets. When the dust settled, the Jets trotted off with a 42-0 victory and bragging rights for yet another year.

With fans nearly everywhere around the field, the atmosphere was tense and filled with so much emotion for one of the biggest games of the season. 

Scoring started when Senior Isaiah Smith plunged into the endzone with a powerful run to put the Jets up 7-0. Later during the first quarter the Hornets found themselves on the three yard line with a near score, but was held up by a strong Encinal defensive stand. 

After two more touchdowns, the Jets went into halftime up, 21-0. On the first possession of the second half, senior Archie Cole ran in a phenomenal 60-yard touchdown to stretch the Jets’ lead further. The touchdown was a back-breaker, leading most Encinal players believing the game was in hand.

“I knew the game was over by halftime,” junior Vincent Nunley said. “We were up by three touchdowns. I thought we had the game in the bag.”

After two more Jets touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the Hornets conceded and left the field with 8 minutes left. There was no love lost as there were no handshakes post-game.

“We were devastated. We wanted to finish the game.” Nunley said. “That is 8 minutes of football we will never get back.”