By BRIDGETTE NORRIS
A hush fell over the locker room, interrupted by the muffled sound of iPod headphones. The varsity football team discussed the game and hit the bravehead for good luck as they walked out to the field.
The team started the season by suffering close losses. The game against West Orange on Sept. 2 was tied 14-14 until junior quarterback Sanford Meeks hit junior tight end Blake Orvis with a pass for a two yard touchdown to tie again with 20-20. Two incomplete passes and a delay of game penalty ended the game 27-20.
During the game, junior wide receiver Devin Thomas had five catches for 100 yards, and junior running back Aaron Turman had 94 yards. As well as Meeks with 13-of-30 passing for 173 passing yards and going 41 yards on a 4th-and-1 play to score on a quarterback sneak. The following week, the team suffered a closer loss, 31-27 to the Timber Creek Wolves.
“We lost by a touchdown. There were too many mental mistakes,” head coach Phillip Ziglar said.
After two losses, on Sept. 16, the team defeated Winter Park with a final score of 28-20. Turman scored both touchdowns that led to a 14-14 tie until junior Michael Willet, line backer, scored a touchdown. Following Willet’s touchdown was another by Winter Park leading to another tie. The tie broke again, this time by Turman. With only seconds left, the defense stopped the Wildcats on the fourth down and it was a 28-21 victory.
Coming off on a win, on Sept. 30, the team played Wekiva and in the final seconds suffered a loss of 22-21. However, Coach and team look forward to the rest of the upcoming season. Tonight, the team will play undefeated Dr. Phillips.
“We are going to get wins. We don’t need to change anything. We are just working on getting better. We did good last year against Dr. Phillips. We couldn’t get in the endzone. We are going to and need to slow them down,” Ziglar said.
Another game the team has expectations and looks forward to is the game against East River, which is also the homecoming game.
“We simply have to play better, which means less mistakes, work harder and a have positive attitude even though it is frustrating sometimes,” Brad Hutsell, starting wide receiver, said.
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