It’s the mindset, it’s the motto, and it’s the spirit that drives Lake Ridge football to victory. “Be 1-0 today” is a phrase you’ll hear often among the football team wherever they are. Whether it be at practice, on the field before a game, at the lunch table, in the halls, or in the classroom, the Eagle football team is constantly reminding themselves to be 1-0.

“Being 1-0 means that you take everything day by day. You focus on the task that you have and focus on where your feet are. You don’t worry about outside influences. When we say ‘1-0’ in the game, it means ‘play that play.’ You don’t worry about anything else in that moment,” says senior Blake Lodes.

Beyond being a lifestyle, the catchy phrase directly affects the game performance for each individual player. Senior Jon Paul Portillo shared what being 1-0 means to him everyday.

“Being 1-0 means not getting ahead of yourself. The here and now, that’s what you worry about,” says Portillo.

“It’s all about knowing that if you mess up one play, you have to move on from there. You can’t worry about that play, you have to keep going,” reveals senior Will Ready.

The motto and ultimate goal of being 1-0 is something that the team doesn’t take lightly. It affects their everyday lives as well as everything they execute on the football field.

“Having a reminder like that affects my performance in a really positive way. It keeps my mind in check. One play at a time, one game at a time,” says senior Jayden Williams.

And while each player believes in their motto, the mindset is contagious and tends to affect the entire team’s dynamic as a whole. Being focused on one day at a time and each game week by week has improved the performance.

“We started off slow with Guyer. Being 1-0 was difficult while we had some personal issues going on with the team. But I think Guyer was a learning experience. We took that experience and went 1-0 that next week at practice. Those 1-0 practices lead up to 1-0 victories and that was evident Friday night,” says Lodes.

Getting off track and out of focus isn’t an option for the Eagles. After having rough games, they reset their eyes on the motto and start again.

“After week one we had to go back to the basics, go back to our morals, and start really being 1-0 again. That’s how we came out with a win,” says Williams.

The team can’t focus on how far they will go, so instead they take each game at a time.

“We’re going to go as far as we allow ourselves to go. We haven’t even reached the pinnacle of our team’s abilities and I’m excited to see what we’re capable of,” admits Lodes.

The Eagles will bring their 1-0 philosophy to RLA Stadium Friday as they take on Mesquite Poteet.