Campolindo started off the game slow but battled back in a wild game against Freedom. In a game that featured Dillan Thoms going for 137 yards on the ground and Jacob Griessel throwing for 286 yards, No. 15 Campolindo (1-0) held on for a victory in the season opener at Freedom (0-1) by the score of 27-23. 

The game started off slow, as the game’s first two drives started with no scoring after Freedom junior quarterback Les Callen and the Falcons came up just short on fourth down in the red zone.

“So we definitely started a bit slow out of the gate,” Griessel said.

Greg Allen came up with a huge play for Freedom, intercepting the pass from Griessel and taking it all the way to the 1-yard line. Campolindo’s defense wasn’t going to allow the Falcons to capitalize, though, as they made a goal line stand to keep the score at 0-0. 

Finally, in the second quarter, the Bay Area had its first touchdown of the season as Callen found Tyler Lepolo in the endzone, giving Freedom a 6-0 lead. However, that lead didn’t last long as a wide open Max Heffernan ran down the field by hauling in a 51-yard touchdown pass from Griessel. 

As the end of the first half approached, the score stayed tied at 6-6, and the last two minutes of the half saw some fireworks. Big catches by Washington signee Vince Nunley and Tyler Lepolo brought Freedom to the red zone before the Callen-Lepolo connection struck again. 

With just 24 seconds left on the clock, Griessel led the Cougars down the field and scored a touchdown as time expired. He hit Max Rittman on a slant, getting in by the nose of the football to make the game 13-12 going into the half. 

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