Chico’s very own Almond Bowl comes back for the 52nd year: Pleasant Valley vs. Chico! The two rival high schools met on Pleasant Valley High School’s football field this October 13. Tickets sold out faster than ever and this year’s tickets could only be
sold online. Ms. Ann Castle even quotes, “I am not very happy about that.” There was even talk of kids who weren’t able to get tickets, and they ended up climbing over the fence to try to get in, trying to see the two enemy schools compete with each other.
Throughout the entirety of the junior varsity game, Chico High got crushed. PV took the win 27 to 6. They fought hard, tackling every opponent. Jay Mojica, a sophomore JV player, said “I was hurt after seeing my higher team lose[.] my favorite part was seeing my brothers succeed.” After their game, the JV boys came back to watch Varsity play.
Even though at half time Chico High was taking the lead, the Vikings riled themselves up for a very much needed win, hoping that at half time the Panthers would wear themselves out and crawl back to Chico High. Aymee Rangell, a sophomore at Chico high, said, “they do good [during the initial part of the game] but after halftime they always get tired.” That, however, did not happen. From there, the rest of the game just kept going downhill. The game ended with the vikings being defeated 35 to 0. When a varsity player, Alex Schweitzere, was asked what his favorite part of Almond Bowl was, he said, “I have to say half time was my favorite because I didn’t have to think about the score.”
On the bright side, Pleasant Valley cheerleaders lived up to their name. With flips and back walkovers, they took over the field with their amazing performance. Lara Greva said, “My favorite part was cheering for the huge student section and the spirit!” Which was true, most of PV’s kids were dressed in blue and white to show off their school spirit. Some were even bold enough to wear glitter.
During the game, students found plenty of food and refreshments. Cal Java was kind enough to come back again and hand out drinks. There were also Bunt Cakes and Kinders BBQ trucks lined up right as you entered the gates. Hopefully everybody got something tasty!
