On Nov. 1, the highly-anticipated rivalry between Tesoro High School and San Juan Hills will commence during the annual Battle of the Bell game.
This game, the most attended football game of the year, is exceedingly important to the culture and spirit of Tesoro as a whole. The football players, students and faculty all get thrilled throughout the week leading up to it as the anticipation commences.
The history of Battle of the Bell dates back to 2019 when Tesoro played San Juan in the first-ever rivalry game. Since then, it has been a constant game to look forward to as it is usually the last game of the football season—if the team doesn't make it to CIF—marking the end of the Friday night games for the rest of the year, and some players’ last time playing football ever.
The rivalry between these two teams isn’t just made up from thin air. It comes from a distance: nine miles apart. That's it. These two schools have students who have known each other their whole lives, playing with them together on sports teams, going to the same middle schools, growing up together. But on the playing field—of course, the friendships are still there—but each team has a strong desire to win and beat the other as the competitive thrill flows through their veins.
Tesoro doesn’t just leave this excitement for the football team, the whole school gets involved. ASB decks out Titan Way with posters declaring how they will win against the other team and show their titan spirit. Students and faculty buy T-shirts with the slogan “Beat the Brand” to wear around campus or just to the games to support the team as well. Everyone gets excited, everyone gets pumped, everyone wants to win.
But needless to say, the most motivated and determined people who want to “Beat the Brand” are Tesoro’s very own football players. Like varsity wide receiver Braiden Vaca said, “We are all very excited for the Battle of the Bell game, to play hard, and overcome adversity as a team”.
This game means a lot for the team especially since the game was down to the wire last year, with a tough loss, losing the bell to San Juan Hills. So this year, the team is very eager and persistent in getting the bell back for Tesoro, and they are going to fight until the last whistle is blown.
Under the lights on Nov. 1, the Battle of the Bell game is going to take place. Sold-out seats, packed stands and nothing more thrilling than watching the team put their best foot forward to try to win the bell back.
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