The 2023-2024 football season for the Rancho Cucamonga High School Cougars was one for the books. With their first game of the season, they displayed their dominance against Murrieta Valley, defeating the mascot of MVHA score-score, which would be a common theme throughout the entire regular season.
At home in the Cougar Dome, the RCHS Cougars remained undefeated. Their first four games of the season were all close ones, all a one-score game difference, but fast forwarding to the last four games of the season, the Cougars seemed to be unstoppable, with an unforgettable performance against Chino Hills, beating the Huskies 49-0.
Senior Trey Wilson had an explosive game with two rushing touchdowns and 250 rushing yards against the Chino Hill Huskies. The defense had also been on lockdown with one interception, two sacks, and one fumble recovery, which held the Huskies to an embarrassing 0 points, leaving them to run the clock out during the fourth quarter.
“We played as a team, especially with it being our senior night,” varsity senior offensive lineman Steve Martinez when reflecting on the match up against Chino Hills. “That game was special to us, so we put a lot of heart into what we did that week.”
There were many highlights of the season, including senior night, the pink-out game, and the white-out game, which the Cougars dominated in all match ups.
Many players and coaches agree that their run defense and penalties were their weaknesses for the season, but despite those, the team as a unit performed to their best ability, and their record showed it.
“From last week we have a few things to correct but we just need to make sure we stop the run on defense, and to try and create some turnovers and explosive plays, and to be a little more sound and work on our penalties,” said head coach Brian Hildenbrand when reflecting on the team’s loss against Upland on Oct. 26.
Up until Oct. 26, the Cougars remained undefeated, with a dominant win/loss record standing at 9-0.
The Cougar’s first loss was against Upland. However, the Cougars now have their eyes laid on the CIF title.
“That game is behind us and we are looking to move forward. We are 0-0 right now come the playoffs, and while the regular season was very exciting, we are now excited to go and compete for a title,” said Hildenbrand. “It’s been a good season so far and we wanna finish strong and hopefully make a run here in the playoffs for a CIF title.”
The 2023-2024 season for the RCHS Cougars was an unforgettable one, with them finishing 9-1 for the regular season, and being 3-1 for the Baseline League since Nov. 1.
As of Nov. 6, the Cougars have beaten the Edison Chargers 35-14 and move on to the next round, facing Murrieta Valley on Nov. 10. The Cougar’s primary focus is to come out victorious in the playoffs, bringing home the CIF title.