Even koalas and kangaroos could not distract the three Saratoga Panthers invited to the Down Under football event.

“It’s going to help me out this year, it kept me in shape over the summer,” Hayden Davidson said. “The kids on my team brought a new intensity down there.”

Players from around the country went to Australia last month to compete against Australian and New Zealand teams. Both countries have very young football programs.

“They call it gridiron,” Berto Soto said. “Down there, they are more interested in rugby, so they are just getting to know our game and they were roughhousing a little.”

Soto said Ryley Giacometto, the third man from Saratoga invited to compete, tackled one of the New Zealanders and was rewarded with a diving tackle several plays later.

He was headed back to the huddle.

The team got there on a Friday, practiced Saturday, took three hours to learn the playbook and played.

All in all, Soto said he and his teammates held up the defensive side of the ball well.

“It was way tough right at the  beginning,” Soto said. “We are a small town, and when we got to meet each other, our linemen and running backs were way bigger.”

The team lost their first game by three points, but came back strong in the second game, taking second in their pool of teams.

Davidson, Soto and Giacometto also got to see the Q1 tower, visit a theme park and stay in Hawaii.
“Some of the team went sky diving, deep sea fishing, took surfing lessons, went scuba diving,” Soto said. “I just relaxed.”
The three players raised about $3,000 a piece through fundraisers and raffles.
“It was a good trip to meet new friends. We want to have a  team reunion in Nevada,” Berto Soto said.
“If I could, I’d go back.”