The Richwoods Boys’ Football spectacular season has unfortunately come to a close. Our Knights were very competitive and dominant throughout the year all the way from our freshman team to varsity.
Our freshman team did an exceptional job this year, winning 6 out of their 9 games. The future teams are looking very solid because in a few years most of these players, like Liam Ratliff, will be playing on Varsity. The main reason that the freshmen did so well this season is because of their mindsets. “We came into the season with high expectations, and we knew how good we were from the start.” said Liam. The key to their success was knowing that “having a losing record wasn’t an option” and that “we would dominate and give it 110% every play”. Another big reason we did so well is our coaches. Liam says, “from day one of training camp they taught us how to have a winning mentality and play as a team”. The coaches weren’t only focused on the wins and losses this season because they also “taught us how to be better on and off the field”. The coaches are truly what make our teams great and “We wouldn’t have won any games without them”.
Our junior varsity team also did very well this season, winning 2 games (both by forfeits) and losing 7. Our junior varsity team is next in line to represent our school on the big stages next season. Joe Ruggerio told me that “one of the best aspects of the JV football team is the ability to get on the field experience which helps me play better”. Junior varsity really prepares our players for the big leagues by helping them to “be more fundamentally sound for when they play varsity”. Next season Joe is “looking forward to playing solely varsity and a better season”. It’s very inspiring to hear that “our team is already working very hard in the offseason”. Joe tells us to expect “a good if not great record next year”.
Varsity also did an extremely good job this season, winning 2 games and losing 7. Some people on our team including Gabe Pritchard “think that the season did not go as expected”. Gabe’s reason for this is that “we didn’t get the momentum we needed in big games” and that it all comes down to the players’ drive to win. Gabe says, “people’s choices in the offseason affected this”. If we want to succeed in the next season Gabe says to “get in the weight room and go to track practices to build speed during the offseason”. Our players need to watch football and “build their football intelligence”. In preparation for next season, Gabe is going to “spend a lot of time in the weight room in the winter and do track in the spring”.
Overall, this season all 3 teams did an amazing job this season and showed great potential for next year. We know that every year the competition gets harder and harder, but our Knights are ready for it. The future is very bright for Richwoods Boys’ Football.
