Expecting to have a better season than the previous one, the coaches and players strive for excellence during their summer practices. However, as the football season began and reached the end, some unfortunate events led to injuries of the quarterbacks on the varsity team.

In a new season filled with different individuals and their distinctive skills, both the coaches and players were filled with eagerness as they looked towards taking the team a step ahead of what it was the past season. Before the gaming season started, the team gave it their best during practice to prepare and transfer that excellence to game day. Pondering on the back-to-back training that went on during the summer, Head Coach, Kirk Thor believed that this time around it would be better considering the positive energy emitting from them.

“I thought we’re gonna have an excellent year. You know, our players worked really hard in the summer and they worked really hard in the offseason last year,” Thor said. “They came in with a really good attitude. We had a really tough schedule and a tough District, which I thought they were going to do well.”

Halfway through the season, the team was faced with some challenges. Athletes got injured, mostly the quarterbacks. Three quarterbacks who got injured before mid-season recall the details of the pain they got while playing. 

Junior Kennen Miller got hurt while running some games later after the first match.

“I tore my ACL in week three of the season. I stepped up in the pocket and I took off running and I got tripped up and I had to play my foot out and it just hyper-extended back making the tissue tear inside,” Miller said.

Senior Joey Glendenning obtained his injury while moving.

 “I was turning then my foot got stuck in the ground and I cracked my kneecap. That hurt worse than any other injuries I have gotten in my knees before,” Glendenning said.

Senior Kameron Wallace injured himself when he got tackled.

“I got tackled and landed on my back. There was a big lineman that landed on my wrist when it was out. The pain didn’t settle in until I was on my way to the hospital,” Wallace said.

In some cases, a player’s injury could affect them in any area of their life. As a result of the connection binding the athletes and the sports together, sports injuries could be an emotional collapse for them. Miller remembers how devastating it was for him after acquiring that pain.

“Getting injured affected my football life. It was really a big thing for the first couple of weeks. Well, I could just see the plays replaying in my head. I felt like I let my team down. I knew they relied on me,” Miller said.

Wallace felt similarly.

“It kind of disconnected me from everybody because it was like that was a season-ending injury. I couldn’t really get back to it,” Wallace said.

In every team, there is one player who they always look up to for guidance. A player who is more skilled and has a higher experience. Miller’s unexpected injury took a toll on the team as they looked up to him in moving the team.

“I think it really had them just kind of confused. We had big ideas for the season and how far we could go. I think when I got hurt, like just the whole team’s morale just dropped, the confidence dropped, and everybody lost faith,” Miller said. “Then we had the next quarterback who broke his wrist and the next one who hurt his knee. I think the team just gave up.”

Ultimately the coaches decided to fill up the empty spots left by injured quarterbacks with JV players. Sophomore, Mak’ye Jackson was overwhelmed when he realized he was going to have to step up into a higher position.

“I was among the few JV players that was moved up to the Varsity team. I was very nervous because that was a big step,” Jackson said. “I felt very overwhelmed by the difference in skills, height, strength, and weight. It felt like a lot of pressure.”

The team had faith in making it to playoffs this season but they experienced some obstacles along the way.  Starting from their most skilled player along with two other quarterbacks who got injured right before the first half of the season, the team lost some of its zeal. The coaches had little other option but to fill up those gaps by putting new players in.