On August 29th, 2025, the MacDonald High School Condors started the season off strong by defeating Santa Clara 28-6 after losing against them the prior year, 0-40. Thanks to Head Coach Burt Codera, the Condors have been soaring through their division.
“Well, the first way we do it is by trying to create a positive culture outside the team, so that way the kids around campus hear about football, they hear mostly positive things, and they want to be involved in the program,” said Codera.
According to Codera, winning this time feels great. Codera said, “It was very rewarding to be able to beat the school that I used to work at, obviously, because we have a lot of connections to that school. I have a lot of friends who still work there, so after getting our butts kicked last year and I was left with a very sour taste in my mouth. It felt really, really good to finally beat them.”
The Condors continued their winning streak vs Mt. Pleasant on Friday, September 5th, 2025, with a final score of 42-0. During halftime of that game, the coach told the backup players to play and not be lazy.
“Our coach always tells us not to be lazy, and instead be locked in,” said John Leonard, captain of the Condor football team.
The Condor football team uses its skills and knowledge from its daily practice when playing in the actual game. They are required to practice daily after school for 2 hours, giving 100% effort and improving their overall team chemistry.
“We worked really hard in the offseason and our defense got way better,” said Leonard.
At the Varsity level, the team has “become stronger by working harder and staying consistent,” said Codera. The team will continue to be focused during practices and, most importantly, maintain their undefeated streak for the rest of the season.
The journey started in the fall of 2022 with only 22 freshman students in the first year of Macdonald Condor football history. There were only five games played during the first year. The following year, the team experienced huge success with 10 wins and 0 losses. Throughout the 4 years (2022-2025) of football at Macdonald, the Condors have had many ups and downs. One of the reasons for that is that the Condor football team continues to keep all of their players; this is one of the reasons they play well. So far, the team has yet to lose a single game. The team is expected to continue working hard to dominate the league.
