The Friday night lights shined brightly in Gene Edwards Stadium, as the Bishop’s School Knights and La Jolla High School Vikings faced off in the annual Battle for Pearl Street on September 23, 2024. Building on years of tradition, the game challenged the Bishop’s football team’s motivation to win. Ultimately, the Knights fell to the Vikings 38-21. 

An annual Bishop’s tradition, “The Battle for Pearl Street” kicks off the Bishop’s football season, and is a key way the community elicits school spirit early on in the year. Before and during the game, the Bishop’s Varsity Football team faced challenges to both their mental and physical toughness. But, above all, their team culture was tested following a slew of injuries to key players.

According to Director of Athletics Ms. Paula Conway, who was also the previous La Jolla High School Athletic Director, The Battle of Pearl Street has been going strong for around a decade. Because of the proximity of the two schools, the schools are considered “crosstown rivals,” with competitive spirits from both student sections energizing the stadium. 

“Bishop’s is an old school, but so is La Jolla High,” Coach Conway said, “so there are a lot of La Jolla High alums that live in the area and their families go. It’s really a community event.” Coach Conway even noted that the Athletics Directors of both schools also get competitive, the game deciding who’s going to treat the other to dinner after the game. The tradition and community aspect is part of the reason that makes the event so lively. 

And the game has real stakes. Coach Conway noted that the game determines who will own the Pearl Street sign. “It usually hangs above the door here,” Coach Conway said, pointing to the doorway of her office, “but when we lose it, we give it to La Jolla or when we win it, they give it back to us.” 

The path to a great season full of great games begins before the team steps onto the field. Game preparation is arguably the most critical period before the game itself. A point of emphasis the coaching staff here at Bishop’s preaches to the players is that quality preparation is a reflection of athletes’ performance.

Getting in the right headspace is essential for shifting focus from an academic mindset to an athletic perspective. For the football team this transition starts in chapel. Assistant Head Football Coach and Defense Coordinator Kohl Simonds says, “Sometimes it is a coach that will share a story, sometimes it’s an outside speaker, but it’s not necessarily the message that’s shared…it’s a time to decompress and focus. From that point on, it’s all about the football game.” 

In the midst of a Friday afternoon,the upcoming game fills the air with anticipation and adrenaline—this is the time where the players get their minds game ready. As defensive end player Tim LaBrucherie (‘25) articulated, “I don’t think I’m ready, I know I’m ready. I put the work in. I watched the film, I’ve been studying [the Vikings’] plays, doing what the coaches tell me to do.” 

The excitement surrounding Battle for Pearl can feel engulfing. But for Coach Walton, he cares more “about trajectory.” He knows the team “will make mistakes, mess up, do something wrong What matters more to him is “staying together and continuing to progress.” 

In the 2023 football season, the team was young. “Last year we were just adding and subtracting, this year we’re doing multiplication and powers and we’re so far ahead mentally” expressed Coach Walton. Captain Henry Armstrong (‘25) voiced how “Being on varsity for four years has made me see a wide variety of characters and different dynamics.” No matter what though, as Captain Ian Browne (‘25) says, “With us, we are all sort of together and going through everything together.”

This unity is exactly what the team strives to embody. “Culture to me is everything. It sets expectations of behavior. It sets expectations of how we carry ourselves, how we are accountable to something, how we are accountable to each other,” Coach Walton said. From the day of the first offseason practice culture is a key element of the team’s unity and success.

Coach Walton, along with the other coaches, stress the idea that the culture of the team influences other parts of your life. He stated, “I always say 10x10x10x10x0 is 0. So you could be doing great in three areas of your life, but you’re an idiot in one, and it ruins all of it. I want to make sure that in our culture we can hold each other accountable in all areas of life.”

The Knights’ unity and composure were tested after halftime when seven starters, key to both defense and offense, were sidelined by injuries that would ultimately end their participation in the game. Coach Walton provided a pep talk in a huddle during the game. “Bad things are going to happen. Don’t flinch. Good things are going to happen. Don’t flinch,” he said to his players. 

Coach Walton later explained what he meant. “When you do something amazing, don’t flinch. Don’t get too high on yourself. When you mess up, don’t flinch. When the other team is being aggressive, don’t flinch. Always maintain composure,“ he said.  

Another part of team culture is cultivating strong leadership within each player. Henry said that, “Elevating what they do in the weightroom, elevating what they do in the film, elevating what they do at practice, that’s what being a leader is; elevating and inspiring”. The coaches have taught the importance of lifting and elevating each other, not only during practice but just in every aspect of life. And this culture is something that each grade passes on to the next. Henry, after four years on the team, got to learn the key qualities of being a leader at this school from past seniors.

The Battle of Pearl Street is just one game in the season-long war the Knights will partake in against foes all around San Diego. They take on their next challenge against Mount Miguel at home on Friday, September 13th at 7:00 p.m.