A Season To Remember

As the scoreboard clock goes into overtime, the tension is high between the Amory high school football team and The Noxubee county football team. The AHS football team has made it to the third round of playoffs, after having an almost undefeated season. Hopes are high throughout the crowd, including the AHS cheerleaders, dancers, and marching band. Throughout the year the AHS football team has put in so much dedication and hard work to get up to this point.

Beginning in the summer of 2022, the football team started practicing for what would end up being a great season. The team practiced 3 days a week during the summer: sweating, working out, learning plays, and bonding with the coaches and each other. Once school started, the team practiced every single day in 8th period and after school.

Here at AHS, Fridays during football season are a big deal. The hype and excitement are not only at the games Friday night but spreads throughout the entire day. Cheerleaders and dancers wear their uniforms Friday to school and football players wear their jerseys. For the dancers, cheerleaders, band members, and the community, Friday afternoons are filled with pep rallies, tailgating, and getting together as one community to get ready for the game that night.

Fridays are packed days for the AHS football players. Starting early in the morning, football players have to arrive at the fieldhouse before school starts to get jerseys and have breakfast provided for them. During school involves 8th-period activities and pep rallies. After school, the football players stay to prepare for that night. This includes a pre-game meal, rest time, walking the field, getting taped and dressed for warmup, warming up, putting on shoulder pads, having a pep talk with the coaches, and saying a prayer. This get’s the team excited, prepared, and in a good head space ready to play and work together as a team to hopefully win the game.

The atmosphere during the North half game is electric. The crowd is cheering, the band is playing, and the cheerleaders and dancers hype the crowd up as the football players are out on the field playing hard. The North half game was one of the most nail-biting, tense, and close games that the team had had throughout the season. For the entire game, both teams were neck-in-neck. Unfortunately, after an extremely hard and well-fought game our team lost, losing our chance to go to state championship. Despite the loss, the AHS community is extremely proud of all the hard work, many wins, and accomplishments the football team achieved this year. The team, coaches, and community are already looking forward to cheering on our Amory Panther football players next season.