It was a sunny afternoon at Jesuit High School. A group of boys from Academics Plus trudged along the thick grass to an even larger group of boys. It was the day the football week at Academics Plus would start. Eight teams, led by different counselors would play football games throughout the week.

One of these teams was the Browns, who were coached by Ryan Cervantes ’19, and were fresh off a third place finish in the kickball tournament. They were determined to do just the same, if not better, in the football tournament.

On Monday, training camp began. Counselors had receivers run various routes to practice catching. During training camp, each team had to come up with their team name and Coach Cervantes and his team decided on the Browns as their name. Their roster included Stephen, Jason, Chase, Grant, Tanner, Dominic, David, and Carter. 

On Tuesday, the games began. The Browns did well finishing with a record of 2 – 1. On Wednesday, no one played football because everyone was watching Talon’s Make a wish reveal. Talon, member of Jesuit’s junior class, was diagnosed with cancer. For his wish, he was surprised with a car. 

Thursday was a hard battle. In the first game, the Browns were victorious. In the second game, however, they lost. The game was a major thriller. Both teams scored a touchdown on each of their drives, but the Browns ended up on the losing side. The third game was also a nail biter. The Browns had a comfortable lead, but then their quarterback, Ben, threw an interception. The opposing team scored and forced another turnover. They scored again, and tied the game. After that no one else scored. Soon it was time for the finals.

On Friday, the Browns cruised to a win in the first game. The second game, however, was a tough fight. They won because defensive back Tanner got a pick six at the last second. Then they were off to the championship. The championship was even more nerve wracking. The game was tied for a long time, and then they went into overtime. Both teams scored back and forth and then the Browns finally gave in. A second place finish however is still quite a feat. Congratulations to the Browns, Academics Plus Football Week Runner-ups!