Dimond High football outlasts Bartlett to claim Week 1 victory in dramatic fashion

On a long Friday night made even longer due to a multitude of stoppages as a result of cramping and penalties, the Dimond High School football team saw the fruits of its offseason labor pay off in a major way.

While the Lynx were called for their fair share of penalties in their season-opening matchup against the Bartlett Golden Bears on their home turf, they were the ones left standing victorious at the end of a 35-30 thriller.

“Our conditioning really helped us,” Dimond head coach Brian Yim said. “Getting cramps is tough. (Bartlett was) getting worn out and we were able to seize on that. We ran at them hard, we kept pushing them, we were the more physical team and it paid off.”

Dimond’s coaching staff made conditioning training a priority during offseason, and it paid dividends in the season opener as they racked up 344 yards of total offense and made several clutch plays on defense.

“They were running 1,000-yard gassers for the first five days of practice,” he said. “We hit the conditioning hard and it showed tonight.”

The game was a physical slugfest from start to finish, and the two teams traded blows through the first three quarters. Early in the fourth, it looked like Dimond had pulled ahead for good after going up by two scores — but then Bartlett tried to spoil the Lynx’s chances with about three minutes left on the clock.

Leading the way for the Lynx offensively was junior quarterback Cayden Pili, who accounted for three of the team’s five touchdowns, including two in the first half on a pair of short rushes. In the first minute and a half of the third quarter, he connected with senior Josiah James on a 63-yard catch and run touchdown through the air.

“I was just trying to do what I do — get my receivers the ball — and if they weren’t open, just take off and try to get as much as I can for my team,” Pili said.

After not being able to finish his sophomore season due to a foot injury, he was excited to start off his junior campaign on a high note.

“I only played like, 2 1/2 games last year, so it was kind of a bummer getting hurt that early,” Pili said. “All my teammates had my back and came in strong this year, I know we have a good chance of winning.”

Dimond opened last season with a 3-0 record with Pili under center before he went down. But after a Week 4 forfeit victory over West, the Lynx went 1-4 down the stretch.

“Cayden is a beast,” Yim said. “When we lost Cayden last year, it really hurt us. We were rocking and rolling. Not just his athletic play on the field but his energy. The kids really respond to it.”

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Just when it seemed like victory was in hand for the Lynx, the Golden Bears were given new life and a hope of pulling off a late comeback when senior wide receiver Andre Jameson took a handoff around the edge and erupted up the right sideline for a 54-yard score, his third of the game.

He crossed the goal line with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter and stretched the ball over the pylon for a successful two-point conversion to bring the game within five points — setting up Bartlett with potentially enough time to make a defensive stand and mount a comeback if they could execute a game-winning touchdown drive.

All seemed to be going according to plan for Bartlett after quarterback Silas Freeman connected with CJ Jardine on a 42-yard bomb down the middle of the field to put the offense inside the Dimond 30-yard line.

Then the Golden Bears’ hopes of regaining the lead inside the final minute were extinguished as Dimond junior defensive back Caleb Cooke came up with his second interception of the game to seal the victory.

“It felt great, especially after I gave up that long play,” Cooke said. “It was my fault on that one, but it just felt good to redeem myself and make sure to have my team behind me.”

Pili believes Dimond’s triumph over Bartlett is a sign of “big things” to come for the Lynx this year, including hopefully “that state championship ring” — but the team still wants to take the one-week-at-a-time approach.

“I think it’s a great job that we stayed in a close game Week 1, we’re all still learning and we came out on top,” Cooke said. “It’s only up from here. We’re getting better every week, just putting in the work with the guys and seeing what happens.”

With the turnover and turmoil on and off field that the program faced prior to Yim’s ascension to head coach, seeing the hard work his players and fellow coaches have put in to build it back up is especially gratifying.

“This is my third year as head coach and we’ve worked really hard to change things around here,” Yim said. “Picking up a Week 1 win with school starting and all the distractions is huge.”

Yim said that when Dimond’s varsity football team is thriving, the spirit within the whole school is uplifted.

“The morale in school when we’re a winning team is 10 times better than when we’re losing,” Yim said.