The team for which they cheer wasn’t exactly hot, and the night was undeniably cold.

But Homecoming night tends to transcend such temporary inconveniences. On the biggest night of the high school sports season, the cheerleaders have to bring their best.

And the team of bubbly De Anza Dons cheerleaders did exactly that at the school’s Nov. 13 homecoming. On the field, the football team endured its 10th game without a win, but you’d never have known it from the sidelines, where De Anza’s cheerleaders kept up the “Let’s go D.A., let’s go” cheers for 48 minutes.

Cheer coach Lori Nardone said her girls didn’t lack for enthusiasm or energy despite some of the less than cheerful circumstances on the gridiron. She also noted that her girls, while not the most high-flying aerial troop around, do well with what they’ve got.

“It’s hard,” Nardone said. “We don’t have a gym or mats, so we can’t do any throwing or catching.”

The energy never flagged and the smiles stayed strong deep into the 4th quarter. But when the final whistle sounded on the 49-7 defeat and the curtain fell on the 2009 season, some emotions welled from within.

“I started crying, it makes me sad because it’s our last game,” said cheerleader Tatianna Montoya, a senior.

The De Anza High School Dons, a much-maligned football team, got clobbered in their homecoming night game. But the full story does not show up in the box score.

The Dons were blown out 49-7 by a much better Alameda High School team. The Dons gave up hundreds of yards, but never yielded an inch when it came to heart.

Defensive coordinator Damariea Blanchard implores his players to continue their intense play.

They came in 0-9, and they left 0-10. Most of the  23 players who suited up were seniors, playing possibly the last organized football game of their lives.

After the game, Coach Mike WIlliams said he was proud of his boys for never giving up. Anyone who watched that night couldn’t help but agree.