Written by: Kyra Welch, Athletics Editor
After a long summer of practicing and countless hours in the weight room, the Lions Football Team is headed into their season. After a 7-3 season last year, they have worked hard to fill in the spots of the graduated seniors in order to maintain that standard of winning.
“Preseason was really challenging but it will help us be physical on Friday nights,” commented Captain JJ Rooney, ‘27.
Despite the team being young and inexperienced, there is a lot of new talent and potential. They are a very athletic team with many players who play sports outside of football.
“Football is different than most sports, as it requires a different mental gear with focus and pain management, so it can be a hard transition. It will take some time and growing pains but we’ll be a good team,” Rooney added.
Quarterback JJ Rooney, ’27, leads the Lions’ offense onto the field. Photo: @morgen.creates
The Lions kicked the season off with its home opener against Zimmerman with a 20-49 loss. Even though the game did not go as expected, the boys are ready to make a comeback for their next game.
“I think that last game was a learning opportunity for a lot of the younger guys and guys new to football. A lot of the new starters will know what to expect now from a varsity game and how to prepare throughout the week. We have a lot of potential with this team and we will continue to get better as the season progresses, and I think that we could be a great team by the end of the season,” stated Captain Deacon Seelen, ‘26.
Senior Captain Stryker Johnson, of Heritage Christian Academy, leads the Lions in prayer. Photo by: @morgen.creates
The Lions’ community is excited for an eventful season of football and cannot wait to see how far the team will go. The Lions face the Delano Tigers tonight at 7pm for their first away game.