Written by: Colin Capouch and Magnus Hansen
Touchdown! The Lions are back and better than ever. The football team kicked off their season on August 30th and has hit the ground running ever since.
Coming off a disappointing 2-6 season, the PA Lions’ mission this year was to get back to what their program has expected for years: winning.
Joe Berghult, ’25, makes the clutch third down tackle. PAW Photo Credit: Allsport Photography
Senior captain Joe Berghult, ‘25 commented on how the team progressed from last year. “I think we’ve become more aware of just how good we are. We have a lot of senior talent this year. Even after the pre-season scrimmage, we saw we could compete with anyone.” As for the rest of the season Berghult said, “We can’t waste the season. I expect to win out and win the section.”
The Lions opened their season with a 14-3 win at Byron High School on August 30th. In the home opener, the Lions lost a close one to Becker with a score of 9-13, but the Lions followed it up with a dominant 28-18 win over Chisago Lakes.
Through four games, the Lions’ offense has been propelled by the play of senior Matthew Hunter, ‘25. Everytime he touches the ball it has the chance of turning into a big play. Against Becker, Hunter caught a touchdown that was nominated for CCX Media’s “Sports Play of the Week,” and a picture of his touchdown catch against Mound Westonka was featured on The Star Tribune.
“Both those touchdowns had the same play call and I always get excited when Coach calls that one because I know I’m getting an opportunity to really help out the team if I can make the play. When I see the ball up in the air I have a lot of confidence that I’m going to be able to catch it,” Hunter commented.
The Lions are looking to keep their momentum from last Friday’s 14-3 win over Mound Westonka. As they prepare to face Delano for Providence’s Homecoming on September 27th, they look to continue relying heavily on the play of their defense, especially that of senior safety Romeo Sweet.
Romeo Sweet, ’25, gets hyped for the Becker game. PAW Photo Credit: Allsport Photography.
“Expect high energy. If we have high energy at practice, no one will be able to compete with us. We went toe to toe with Becker, and if we figure out a couple things, we’ll be really good,” said Sweet, ‘25.