For the first time in nine years, football will play the Santa Monica Vikings today at home in its first official game of the season.

The game will be at 7 p.m. 

Despite the Vikings starting their season 0-2, coach Angelo Gasca thinks they will be competitive.

“They look like a big physical team with some talented players, and we’ll just see how that works itself out,” Gasca said. 

To prepare for today’s match-up, the Gondoliers have been doing lots of conditioning and reviewing plays, especially in their run game, said senior Thomas Kensigner, a captain. 

Gasca also adds that the team will be preparing the same way they’ve been every week. 

“We work on our execution and lining up to the other team’s formations and try to emphasize getting better every day by working hard and focusing on our particular roles,” Gasca said. 

The Gondoliers are coming off a 27-13 loss against Harvard-Westlake in an exhibition game last Friday. 

“Coming off being quarantined for 10 days and then back to full game mode was tough,” Gasca said. “But it was good to get out on the field and start to play again.” 

Despite the loss, Gasca is proud of the way the team hung around throughout a game in which the Wolverines executed very well. 

The first half of the game was a “dog fight,” according to Kensinger. Nobody scored until late in the second quarter before the Gondolier’s defense began to wear out in the second half. 

“Our defense was very good overall, and this loss serves as a good learning experience in preparation for the game against Santa Monica,” Kensinger said.