Cascade Claims a Thrilling Victory in their Homecoming Football Game

Dash Haberberger (10) makes a tackle against the Brewster Bears in the Homecoming game. He stretched out with all his force to take down his opponent. Photo credit: Panthra Gardineer (12).

Blood, sweat, and tears were left on the football field on Friday, October 10, for the Cascade Kodiaks’ Homecoming game. The matchup began at 7 p.m., kicking off the long-awaited contest against the Brewster Bears. The student section theme was U.S.A., and the stands were filled with red, white, and blue. The energy was electric—the team was amped up, and the students cheered, yelled, and showed their true school spirit through colorful, themed outfits. 

“[It] made me nervous but excited and the bigger crowd allowed us to get wilder on the field and in the stands,” said Desmond Sharpe (9). 

The Kodiaks took the lead early in the first quarter when Eli Webb (11) scored the first touchdown of the night after a strong pass from quarterback Gene Witt (11). The play energized both the team and the student section. 

“It felt good to get that first touchdown obviously, but I didn’t really process it all due to the amount of adrenaline and the atmosphere of the biggest home game of the year,” said Webb. 

The game quickly turned into a defensive standoff, with both teams preventing any scoring for a while. Cascade’s defensive line held firm, stopping Brewster at 4th and 10 and blocking key plays that could have advanced the Bears up the field. 

“Defensively we did really good, we had good blocking and tackling throughout the game,” said Witt. 

The second quarter remained slow, with frequent possession changes and little scoring action. Midway through the quarter, Brewster finally scored their first touchdown, tying the game. Despite the setback, the Kodiaks stayed positive—on the sidelines and on the field—refusing to give up even when the momentum shifted. 

“There was never a doubt in my mind, the whole team stayed positive because if we think we’re going to lose then we lose, so I never thought that we weren’t going to win,” said Sharpe. 

The game went into halftime tied 7–7.

The game went into halftime tied 7–7. During halftime, Homecoming royalty delivered their speeches. The princes and princesses from each grade, along with the senior king and queen, stood atop decorated boxes as their speeches were played for the crowd, soaking up the spotlight. Afterward, the Kodiaks returned to the field looking ready to battle through the second half. 

As the clock wound down, the score remained locked at 7–7 heading into the fourth quarter.

Throughout the third quarter, neither team managed to score. Cascade’s offense, however, began to find its rhythm—receivers ran clean routes, the quarterback made accurate passes, and linemen held strong against Brewster’s defense. As the clock wound down, the score remained locked at 7–7 heading into the fourth quarter. 

During the final quarter, the student section watched anxiously as both teams’ defenses continued to hold. With time running out, momentum shifted rapidly. The Kodiaks had possession before an interception gave the ball to Brewster. Moments later, Webb intercepted a Brewster pass, reclaiming possession for Cascade with less than a minute left. The crowd erupted in excitement. 

With only seconds remaining, the Kodiaks advanced down the field. With 15 seconds left, Witt snapped the ball, threw a deep pass, and connected with Dash Haberberger (10), who caught it in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. 

“Catching the game winning touchdown was exciting, I didn’t really process it until I was on the sidelines with my teammates,” said Haberberger.