On September 29, 2023, the Wilcox Chargers held their 59th annual Homecoming Football game against the Mountain View Spartans on their home turf. The action-packed Friday evening began with a victory for the Junior Varsity team followed by a showcase of the class floats, all corresponding with the overall Homecoming theme: Fictional Villains. The Freshmen Class float led the way as Megamind, followed by the Sophomore Class float as the Queen of Hearts, the Junior Class float as Bowser, and the Senior Class float as the Joker. The Homecoming Court trailed behind the floats led by Homecoming Queen Alyssa Robles and Homecoming King Aaditya Avadhani. As the ceremony came to a close, hundreds of exhilarated Chargers trickled into the stands, ready to cheer on their football team in the most hyped game of the year. 

The Chargers started off sluggishly, allowing the Spartans to rush for 75 yards and into the end zone a mere 20 seconds into the matchup. However, this did nothing other than light a spark in the Chargers. Within a minute of the Spartans’ touchdown, Senior quarterback Tyson Bonilla responded by deceiving the Spartans’ defense with a fake handoff and driving 60 yards into the end zone. Bonilla sealed off the quarter with another two rushing touchdowns, giving the Chargers a two-possession advantage over the Spartans. 

The Black and Gold went into the second quarter up 21-7. The quarter started with both teams getting bombarded with penalties, and the Chargers failed to convert for a touchdown within the first few minutes. Despite this, the resilient Chargers’ defensive unit was able to prevent the Spartans from scoring. With five minutes left in the quarter, Bonilla once again rushed the ball into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the night. The quarterback expresses what prompted his first-half breakout: “It all started with the [offensive] line, there’s nothing I could do without them. Especially the backs for setting up the fakes. I think it’s all a team effort.” Bonilla, a first-year quarterback, set a team season-high in touchdowns in a single game. Unlike most situations in which the majority of the quarterback’s touchdowns come off their throws, Bonilla rushed the ball into the end zone on all four occasions tonight. “He’s really fast,” voices Coach Rosa. “I’d say that’s the big thing. He did everything correctly today, he did not make many first-year quarterback mistakes.” Junior Running Back Jamontay Amataga swiftly followed Bonilla with a touchdown of his own to end the half. 

The elevated spirit of the crowd uplifted the Chargers’ football team on their scuttle back to the locker room. The team had utmost confidence in their performance so far, but they all knew one thing – the game was not over until the clock hit 0:00. 

The second half commenced with a 42-yard punt return from Running Back Elijah Walker. The Chargers were able to convert for multiple first downs from a handful of players throughout the course of the third quarter. With 2 minutes and 40 seconds remaining in the quarter, Tight End Adrian Garcia ran 35 yards for the Chargers’ sixth touchdown of the night. The team’s Kicker Isaias Lopez followed each of the Chargers’ touchdowns with a successful extra point attempt. 

Despite the defensive unit weakening toward the end of the matchup, the Chargers came out triumphant 45-14 over the Spartans, capping off the 2023 Homecoming Week on a high note. The Black and Gold gained confidence in the new anchor of their offensive unit, Tyson Bonilla, as well as momentum that they hope will set the tone for the rest of the season.