The Last Minute Game
Nathalia Davison
On Friday, October 2nd, Hillgrove’s Varsity Football team was set to play Morrow, who unfortunately had to cancel due to coronavirus within their program. Harrison, set to play Westlake, also had to cancel due to coronavirus. Hillgrove and Westlake replaced Morrow and Harrison, leading to a very engaging home game for Hillgrove. The predictions for this game was Hillgrove 27, Westlake 24, and the actual outcome was Hillgrove 42, Westlake 21.
The beginning of the game was slow, and very close for both teams. However, during the fourth quarter Hillgrove stepped it up scoring a total of 28 points. “I was so surprised and excited [during the fourth quarter]. I thought we were going to lose at the beginning of the game, but the guys really pulled through at the end,” says Hillgrove Varsity Cheerleader, Journee Martin. Many people say they saw a change in the players. Alexis Mitchell, Senior at Hillgrove says, “The change I saw was the increase[d] momentum and determination.” The increased momentum and determination could have come from a variety of things.
The cheerleaders, crowd, and coaches all play a huge role during games. “I think we [the cheerleaders] were a lot louder considering that we were missing a lot of people. We got the crowd going and we were really cheering on our team. I think all the excitement, good and bad, really pushed our guys to get those points back at the end,” Martin says. Noah Abrams, Defensive Back on Varsity Football, says, “We are definitely more aggressive and intense since Coach Slack has been the coach. Those are the main two [changes].” The crowd all together was very excited and loud, but it was more of the parents then the student section this time. Martin says, “There’s always a group of people at the front of the bleachers that get the stands really excited and then after they leave it’s kind of dead. I think if they kept the same energy throughout the whole game it would be a lot more exciting.” The themes of the games are definitely a fun reason to come out and support the team. “Personally, I wanted it to be space cowboy because that was the original theme and we just did black out for [the] last game, so I was like wow another color, [but] I still had fun over all.” Mitchell continues.
The game, overall, was super exciting and full of ups and downs for both teams. Hillgrove is grateful for the ability to play games and to have another win. With Covid-19 making things difficult, it’s nice to find ways around it and still enjoy the 2020-2021 football season!
The beginning of the game was slow, and very close for both teams. However, during the fourth quarter Hillgrove stepped it up scoring a total of 28 points. “I was so surprised and excited [during the fourth quarter]. I thought we were going to lose at the beginning of the game, but the guys really pulled through at the end,” says Hillgrove Varsity Cheerleader, Journee Martin. Many people say they saw a change in the players. Alexis Mitchell, Senior at Hillgrove says, “The change I saw was the increase[d] momentum and determination.” The increased momentum and determination could have come from a variety of things.
The cheerleaders, crowd, and coaches all play a huge role during games. “I think we [the cheerleaders] were a lot louder considering that we were missing a lot of people. We got the crowd going and we were really cheering on our team. I think all the excitement, good and bad, really pushed our guys to get those points back at the end,” Martin says. Noah Abrams, Defensive Back on Varsity Football, says, “We are definitely more aggressive and intense since Coach Slack has been the coach. Those are the main two [changes].” The crowd all together was very excited and loud, but it was more of the parents then the student section this time. Martin says, “There’s always a group of people at the front of the bleachers that get the stands really excited and then after they leave it’s kind of dead. I think if they kept the same energy throughout the whole game it would be a lot more exciting.” The themes of the games are definitely a fun reason to come out and support the team. “Personally, I wanted it to be space cowboy because that was the original theme and we just did black out for [the] last game, so I was like wow another color, [but] I still had fun over all.” Mitchell continues.
The game, overall, was super exciting and full of ups and downs for both teams. Hillgrove is grateful for the ability to play games and to have another win. With Covid-19 making things difficult, it’s nice to find ways around it and still enjoy the 2020-2021 football season!
