Wind, rain, and cold are not the most favorable conditions for a football game, and they got the best of the West High Trojans in their last home game of 2009 on Oct. 23.

Players could not seem to hold on to the slippery ball, which resulted in a slew of turnovers, safeties, and touchdowns, leading the Linn Mar Lions to a win, 41-10.

But the weather was not the only factor working against West High — the seventh-ranked Lions were heavily favored to defeat the unranked Trojans.

West High senior captain Jamal Thompson said his team’s performance in this game was not what they expected of themselves.

“It wasn’t how we seniors wanted to go out,” he said. “We thought that it would have been a lot closer game then it came out to be. There are a lot of things we all wish we could go back in change that we did in the game, but it doesn’t work that way.”

Despite their less-than-ideal record (3-6), the Trojans have an opportunity to redeem themselves in the first round of the Class 4A substate playoffs on Oct. 26.

Head coach Brian Sauser was relieved that this game’s loss to the Lions was not the last game of the season.

“Thank goodness our seniors aren’t going out on that note,” he said.

The pressure is on for their first playoff game, pitting West High against their crosstown rivals, the City High Little Hawks.

City is currently ranked second in the state for Division 4A high-school football, a marked difference from West High’s ranking of 59.

But senior lineman Jacob Gannon said his team is not intimidated by City High.

“We’re looking to have a really good week of practice,” Gannon said. “We plan on playing a lot harder physically against City, and we’re going to try to match their intensity.”

The only time West High had the momentum during the Oct. 23 game was after an impressive 21-yard touchdown run by senior wide receiver Tayler Bontrager that consisted of a double-reverse handoff and a leap over a Linn Mar defender into the end zone.

The crowd exploded after this play, but they were soon silenced by two Linn Mar touchdowns that made the score to 32-7 going into halftime.

Gannon said he felt his the Trojans had a stronger performance after the halftime break, but it came a bit too late.

“We made too many mistakes early,” Gannon said. “Mentally, we weren’t all there in the first half, but we started to come back and play better in the second half.”

However, the only points the Trojans gained in the second half was a field goal in the third quarter.

Although it is too late in their season to make any significant changes to their lineup or strategies, members of the team and Sauser agreed they need to play a more “physical” game against City High.