The football team kicked off their season with a mix of wins and losses.
Samuel Bennett is the head coach for the football team. He says the team is working hard and getting better every day. They come to practice and games with a positive attitude and show up ready to compete.
“My favorite part of coaching is seeing the growth in the kids as football players, teammates, and people throughout the year,” Bennett said.
On Sept. 8 the C team played against Platte County, losing 6-21.
On Sept. 12, A and B played Campbell. A team lost 0-6 and B team won 14-12. On the A team, Celso Rivera and Q Washington both had big catches from the quarterback, Lucas Tucker. On defense, Legend Brown, Ricky Keil and Z Porter all play well on the defensive line. On the B team game, Brock Mallott caught a touchdown and Garret Christianson ran for a score, and Landon Long had two big catches to steal the win.
Ricky Keil is an eighth grader on A team. He’s number 70 and is a defensive lineman. He was nervous for the first game but also excited, and wanted at least one touchdown. Even though they didn’t win he still had fun.
“I like that all my friends play alongside me and we get to bond together while we play,” Keil said.
Sterling Miles is an eighth grader on the B team. He’s number 55 and on offense he is a left tackle. On defense he’s a nose tackle. He felt pretty good to be back on the field and he thinks they will win next time.
“I think we will do pretty good, we were off to a rough start with a loss but I think that will be our last loss,” Miles said.
September 12 The C team won against Campbell, 20-6. Carter Johnson ran for two touchdowns and Drako Williams caught a 70 yard touchdown pass from Barrett Walker. Brennan Leeds ran for a 2 point conversion and Connor Middaugh recovered a fumble to finish the game.
Barrett Walker is a seventh grader on the C team. He’s number 1 and is a quarterback. He thinks they lost their first game because they didn’t do the little things correctly. But once they fixed the simple fundamentals, they won their second game.
“Before the game I was just trying to get in the mood and ready,” Walker said. I was comfortable playing it, I just try to give it my all on the field.”
Brennan Leeds is a seventh grader on the C team. He is a running back and is number 22. He was excited but also nervous, and hoping to win.
“They [my team mates] are fun to play with and push me to be better,” Leeds said.
On Sept. 19. A and B teams played against Pleasant Lea. A team won 8-7 and B team won 34-0.
Lucas Tucker threw a touchdown pass to Celso Rivera and also threw a two point conversion to Rivera to complete the comeback win. Q Washington, Marrese Whitley, and Z Porter had long run throughout the game. Legend Brown and Edrik Noaese had big games on defense. Landon Bennett scored three touchdowns. Garrett Christiansen threw for two touchdowns including an 80 yard touchdown to Ryan Pointer.
This season is the first time that seventh graders are allowed to play football for the school. They obviously have made an impact on the team, but coaches don’t distinguish between grades.
“We don’t have separate teams. We have one team that plays three games so all of our coaches are coaching every kid all the time,” Bennett said.
