It starts with a whistle and ends with one crowd cheering, players perform on a gridiron stage 100 yards wide, for four years the crowd sees players come and go under the cast of the stadium lights: this is highschool football. To some Football is their livelihood. The very objective that makes these athletes come to school and do their best. Coaches that encourage and inspire players alike in this game we call life.
As some seniors move past the game of football and others continue to move towards it, they all progress into a new stage of living shaped by their experience at Texas High. The outstanding seniors of Texas High football are characterized as honest, disciplined, passionate and persevering both on and off the field.
“It’s a living,” Senior Isiah Dowden said. “I wouldn’t be outside of playing without my team. It’s an eleven man sport that has a living on the field to make plays.”
For years these players have put in dedication to be where they are now. It takes a want by the coaches and players to have a good atmosphere and further push the team as a whole.
“I feel good, I’ve been putting in a lot of work,” Senior Joshua Blackwell said. “It feels good to be recognized. I feel like the team we’re all brothers, we all come together outside of school, and on the field.”
Each high school athlete has someone or something that has made a lasting impression on them for years to come. Whether it is a coach, teammate, or out of school figure, these interactions can make or break a player.
“My old Coach Elliot, he really kept me in football throughout freshman year because I wanted to quit,” Senior Knox Pilgreen said. “To be honest, I did not want to play and well he’s gone now, but he is the one that kept me in football, encouraging me everyday.”
Later Pilgreen scored the first touchdown against the Jacksonville Indians, Nov. 1, 2024. From there the Tigers won 48-7. Others who are ready to get back on the field after a season of injury play a part of the atmosphere and encouragement.
“It’s just a minor setback,” Senior Alex Jones said. “I’m just ready to come back and play with round one.”
Even though life awaits setbacks for some athletes, a game like high school football is a chance to come together and persevere through tough times. With that each player can push and make way for the next set of athletes to build their game into something of their own.
“Don’t give up,” Pilgreen said. “Just stick with it, because through the end it’s fun and when times get hard don’t think about quitting, just grind it out.”
