Members of the Cougar football team stand on the sidelines, awaiting play to resume
Cougs on the Rise
September 18, 2017
Last Friday, in the most publicized and attended high school football game in Bloomington, the North football team came head to head with South.
South triumphed over North this year, the final score resting at 49 for the Panthers and 20 for the Cougars. However, this game was much more equally matched and better fought than last year’s match-up.
The cougars were the first to appear on the scoreboard around halfway through the first quarter. South soon responded with a touchdown of their own, and then another. This trend continued throughout the game,with South tripling North’s points in the 2nd quarter.
Even though the team suffered a loss against South, this season marks the first time North has won a game since 2015.
When asked about the team’s improvement, Senior Left Guard Connor Smith said,
“It feels great, wh
en with all the hard work you do, you finally get a reward. Coming into this year we finally got the reward we felt like we deserved.”
Smith has always had confidence in his team’s abilities, and is excited that in his last season all their hard work is finally showing up on the scoreboard.
Smith refers to his team as his family, as brothers who look out for each other on and off the field.
“We really don’t care what other people think about us,“ Smith said. “We understand who we are, and we know what our abilities are.”
Because of their record, North’s football team is often considered a joke among many students at the school.
Mikayla Nagl, the team’s manager, said, “People just look at their records and don’t understand how hard they work.”
Nagl said that being a football manager made her realize how much effort the football team puts forth every day to prepare fo
r their Friday games.
While the football team takes a lot of heat from students for their record, the stands are still full of enthusiastic students every Friday night home game.
Malique Graham, senior football player, really appreciates this student support at the games and wishes there was even more of it.
“[A full student section] feels awesome; it gets me pumped up,” Graham said.
The North football team continues to face challenges This doesn’t stop them from working hard, and as Smith said, “knowing that we can be successful and will be successful.”
