A few days into the school year, the football team starts practicing and training for their early season start. The first game of the season on the first Friday night of the year against the school’s biggest rival, Ritenour High School.
However, the days prior brought in temperatures far above 100 degrees with humidity, pushing practices later in the afternoon and evenings. For game day, the temperatures reach 114 degrees on the heat index, causing the game to be delayed an hour, benefitting the safety of the players.
“The heat and delayed game just got us hyped for the game against Ritenour even more because no matter what, we were going to win that game,” senior Bemnet Ayele said.
Before each game, the team has a tradition and schedule, and this game was no different.
“First, we have a team dinner together, then we go to the locker room to get our pants on,” Ayele said. “Anyone that has to go see Alex goes see him, then after an hour, we hit the field for our pregame warmups.”
The team strives to focus during their games, creating a serious environment.
“We get focused from thinking about what happens when we are not focused, and what happened against Kirkwood during the fourth quarter, we lost sight of,” Ayele said.
Even under all the stress, players still love the fun of the game. Senior Terrell Porter looks forward to the atmosphere every game.
“My favorite part of playing football is being under the lights with my brothers on Friday nights as well as making plays and finding my parents in the stands and seeing their smiles,” Porter said.
Family and teammate support is crucial to the success of the football team and keeping morale high.
“The brotherhood I share with my teammates, it’s truly remarkable,” Ayele said. “The bonds I have created with them through football will last long after I graduate from high school.”
