Chap­ter 17: Under­dog Meets Top Dog cap­tures the antic­i­pa­tion and excite­ment that the Cubs expe­ri­ence as they approach their cham­pi­onship game, mark­ing a his­toric moment in the South­ern Cal­i­for­nia deaf com­mu­ni­ty. The intense demand for tick­ets reflects the grow­ing antic­i­pa­tion for this game, but the lim­it­ed seat­ing at the Cal­i­for­nia School for the Deaf River­side (CSDR) forces the event to be moved to a larg­er venue, John W. North High School. This sta­di­um, with its expan­sive capac­i­ty, accom­mo­dates the eager crowd, ensur­ing the game can be wit­nessed by thou­sands. The deci­sion to change venues is a piv­otal one, allow­ing the game to be played in front of a larg­er audi­ence, ampli­fy­ing the impor­tance of this con­test as the Cubs pre­pare to face a for­mi­da­ble oppo­nent in Faith Bap­tist. The game rep­re­sents more than just ath­leti­cism; it’s a sym­bol­ic clash of ide­olo­gies and cul­tures that promis­es to bring out the best in both teams.

Faith Bap­tist School, a fix­ture in con­ser­v­a­tive Chris­t­ian edu­ca­tion since its found­ing in 1963, boasts a strict moral and aca­d­e­m­ic cur­ricu­lum that includes manda­to­ry Bible study and prayer. This dis­ci­pline is instilled across the stu­dent body, dic­tat­ing every­thing from the appear­ance of stu­dents to the lan­guage they use in their dai­ly inter­ac­tions. Despite these rig­or­ous stan­dards, Faith Bap­tist remains acces­si­ble to a diverse range of stu­dents, thanks in part to its low tuition, which remains under $8,000. The school’s com­mit­ment to pro­vid­ing an afford­able edu­ca­tion attracts a vari­ety of stu­dents, includ­ing those from White, Lati­no, and Asian back­grounds, par­tic­u­lar­ly among the Fil­ipino com­mu­ni­ty. Led by Coach Rob David­son, who has guid­ed the team since 2006, Faith Baptist’s foot­ball team has a sto­ried his­to­ry, includ­ing a cur­rent record of 10–2 head­ing into the cham­pi­onship. The team boasts impres­sive phys­i­cal prowess, high­light­ed by play­ers like six-foot-eight tight end Luke Ras­mussen and six-foot-three quar­ter­back Luke Ras­mussen, both of whom play a cru­cial role in Faith Baptist’s dom­i­nat­ing pres­ence on the field. Along­side these stand­out play­ers are A.C. Swadling, known for his agili­ty and tack­ling abil­i­ty, and Park­er Mills, a run­ning back with unmatched ded­i­ca­tion, bal­anc­ing his foot­ball com­mit­ments with work at a Mal­ibu restau­rant.

On the oth­er hand, the Cubs head into the cham­pi­onship with the under­dog sta­tus, com­ing off a dif­fi­cult sea­son marked by a string of loss­es. Despite their chal­leng­ing sea­son, they are fueled by an unwa­ver­ing deter­mi­na­tion and the desire to prove them­selves on the grand stage. While Faith Bap­tist prac­tices relent­less­ly, hon­ing their strate­gies and prepar­ing for a deci­sive vic­to­ry, the Cubs find strength in their uni­ty and resolve. Despite being out­matched in terms of prepa­ra­tion and expe­ri­ence, the Cubs are dri­ven by their col­lec­tive will to over­come adver­si­ty, with the hope that their team­work and resilience can coun­ter­bal­ance the supe­ri­or prepa­ra­tion of their oppo­nents. The antic­i­pa­tion for the game grows as both teams pre­pare to put their con­trast­ing philoso­phies to the test on the field. This cham­pi­onship game, with its lay­ers of cul­tur­al clash, ide­o­log­i­cal dif­fer­ences, and indi­vid­ual play­er moti­va­tions, will be more than just a com­pe­ti­tion of ath­leti­cism; it’s a test of heart, grit, and deter­mi­na­tion. For the Cubs, it rep­re­sents the cul­mi­na­tion of their season’s strug­gles and tri­umphs, a chance to rise above the expec­ta­tions and show that they can over­come the top dog in the com­pe­ti­tion. The emo­tion­al stakes are high for both teams as they pre­pare for an unfor­get­table show­down that promis­es to be full of sur­pris­es and moments of bril­liance. The nar­ra­tive builds ten­sion by illus­trat­ing not just the phys­i­cal chal­lenges but also the men­tal and emo­tion­al for­ti­tude required for both teams to emerge vic­to­ri­ous, mak­ing the game a true spec­ta­cle that tran­scends the bound­aries of the sport itself.