Football's most successful season in years comes to an end

On Friday, Nov. 1, the Samo Vikings’ football team played their season finale against the El Segundo Eagles at SMC. After beating Beverly Hills High School in their previous game, the Vikings were full of confidence and determination. The game, a close win with a score of 28-20, determined that Samo would make the 2019 Division XIII CIF Southern Section High School Playoffs, a feat that has not been accomplished by Samo football since 2014. On Nov. 8, the Vikings had their first game since the season finale. They played against St. Bernard High School in Playa Del Rey. The Vikings scored most of their points in the first half,  ending the game with a winning score of 23-0. The strong defensive outing from the Vikings successfully advanced them to the second round of CIF competition, and left their overall win-loss record at 7-4. The second game of the playoffs, occurring on Nov. 15 against Inglewood, would be their last. After a rushing touchdown by Bryce Smith (’20) on the first offensive play of the game, the Vikings slowly began to squander their lead. Inglewood scored multiple times, resulting in a crushing score of 21-60. Yet, the Samo Vikings are proud of their overwhelmingly improved season and are hoping for an even better one next season in 2020. Jeremy Platt (’21), one of the team’s wide receivers, commented how the football program became more of a brotherhood as the season progressed and accolades piled up.“Our team this year had amazing chemistry. We all wanted one another to succeed and we were genuinely happy for our teammates when they scored or accomplished a feat and you could tell because on the sideline we would dance and celebrate with our teammates after they accomplished something. We also never settled for just good; we always wanted [to be] better and that’s the mindset that makes a team great,” Platt said.Kayden Thomas (’20) also credited the team’s hard work off the field that led them to their playoff success.“As a team, we all felt that we could make it to the playoffs. We worked our tails off to make it to the second round. The stuff we got put through during the summer made us a better team which I would say attributed to the team’s[success],” Thomas said.Throughout the season, quarterback Anthony Arnou (’20) was a vital player and thrived in Coach Matt Kirk’s air raid system, which heavily emphasized gaining yards through passing. Arnou ended up with 2141 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns, both good for second in Ocean League’s statistics leaderboard. Running back Bryce Smith (’20) ranked third in Ocean League with 630 rushing yards on the season, while receivers Thomas, Donovan Parks (’20), and tight end Colby Bell (’20) ranked highly in receiving yard leaderboards. As the team begins their conditioning for the 2020 season, their aspirations will revolve around sustained playoff success-something not experienced by the program in recent memory. The Samo community looks forward to the noise Vikings football can make next year.