Nerves race through their bodies.  The locker room is silent.

Helmets are buckled.  The team gets pumped.

They walk onto the gridiron, looking hardened on the outside, but with butterflies flitting around on the inside.

Fans cheer. As soon as the sun sets, the lights come on.

Its Friday night lights… game time.

August 26^th heralded the start of the 2016-2017 BVAL football season. Students had many doubts about the varsity football team because of a rough 2015 season, where the team finished 4-6 overall and placed 5^th in League play.  Few believed they would do anything better than last year. For days leading up to it, the players and fans were anticipating this game.

The players are getting rowdy and so is the crowd. The clock strikes 7 o’clock – its game time.

The players take the field.

The whistle blows.

The first plays have passed and the nerves of the players have calmed down.

They know what to do now.

The plays are starting to click and are flowing like a calm river. The runs, passes, and blocks are falling into place.

Defense is doing their job.

They shut down Tokay’s run game. So Tokay focuses on the passing game.

The secondary shuts down the passing game.

“Rolling into the game we knew that if we wanted the dub we would have to play Heritage football, and not get frustrated if we ever fell slightly behind,” said Aidan Quinn (11).

Quinn was very calm going into the game, he was confident and trusted that his team would come out victorious.

“We knew that we had them beat slightly after we returned from half time,” said Zell (12), “the defense shut out their offense three times in a row. They started to get down on themselves.”

Senior quarterback Nick Zell had a long off season. He spent long hours on the field and in the weight room, trying to get bigger, stronger, and faster.  His hard work seems to be paying off.

Dual purpose Center and Defensive Tackle, junior Jett Stanley also had a big night with two sacks.

“It was a great feeling getting two sacks in the first game. I will do what I can to get more sacks but I care more about my team, I will do whatever I need to do to help my team keep winning and if I can get more sacks while I help out my team that would be good too,” said Stanley.

The team is off to a great start as they are 6-2 so far in the season, only recently losing their first game to league rival Pitts and their second to Antioch.