Nearing the End of Friday Night Lights

Story by Mia Gatti – Feature/Sports Editor

 

  The football team is nearing the start of the postseason and they are beginning the preparation for tough competition. The team plans to work on their teamwork and executing plays well to get far in the postseason. They made it to the semi-finals last year falling short to Christian Brothers College from St. Louis. This year the Broncos are ready to face them again, and win, to advance to the state championship.

   The team has many goals for the season, and are looking forward to a successful ending. 

   “Some short-term goals we have are working on us. Making sure I’m putting the guys in position to be successful, and them going out and executing at a high level. Some long-term goals are winning a conference title, district title, and playing for a state title,” Jason Jones, assistant coach, said. 

   They only have West, and Park Hill to face before the postseason. The team prepares for game days in many different ways, getting in the mindset for Friday night. 

   “Thursday nights I usually get Olive Garden. That is my meal to get me prepared for game days. We all get hype and listen to music in the locker room and get focused for the game, we get in the mindset for the night ahead,” Tanner Howes, junior, said.

   The team is focusing on what needs to be done to be successful especially when it comes to being eliminated. 

   “This sounds really cliche, but our biggest competition is us. I really believe that we are our biggest competitor. We have to master the mundane. Get better at the little things, and everything else will take care of itself,” Coach Jones said. 

   There is a lot of hard work that goes into a football season, and the team has done a good job setting goals for the season and working towards them as each week progresses. 

   “My team goal is to win a state championship, and my personal goals are 1500 passing yards and 10 touchdowns,” Howes said. 

   With their eyes on the state championship, they focus hard each week to make sure they are ready for the new opponent. 

   “Hopefully, we go further this year. That would mean playing in the state title game on Nov. 26th. But we have a lot more work to do before we can make that happen,” Coach Jones said. 

   In the future they will hope to see Christian Brothers College again in the semi-finals, but this time with a more favorable outcome. Make sure you cheer on your Broncos the next few Friday nights before post-season begins!

 

Photo courtesy of Mike McGurk