Game day always starts the night before at a senior’s house for a pasta party.
Every player scavenges for as much food as he can physically grab, but always goes back up for seconds. Everyone is home by 9 pm, eager to go to sleep. Waking up game day morning is much different than a normal day due to the fact that we are anxious to get to school.
Wearing jerseys to school is a privilege, and that means that we MUST behave in school, and more importantly, get our work done. School goes by slow, class after class, until the final 2:16 bell rings and the only thing on our mind is football. The whole team meets in the locker room after school to drop off their bags and take off their jerseys because it’s time to eat!
Before each game the whole team goes to the WHB firehouse and eats a meal that usually consists of pasta, chicken cutlet, and outstanding bread and butter. We sprint and pile into the nine kids’ cars that can actually drive. We rush to the firehouse because the bread is limited.
“I don’t always eat bread, but when I do, I eat at least 3 pieces,” said senior Jack Fink (while hiding bread underneath the tablecloth). Seniors get to eat first and take their pick at the best food, while the underclassmen watch in agony as the line grows.
One person for each table is in charge of throwing out the their table’s mess. This is decided by rock-paper-scissors of course. Once everyone is full, we head back to the school to refill on water, use the restrooms, and more importantly take, an hour nap in the wrestling and weight room.
The team scatters throughout the basement with their “pump up” music on, which the coaches hate because it’s usually heavy dubstep like Excision, Ajapai, Downlink and Destroid. Coach Schaumloffel likes to refer to this music as “Electric Zoo music.”
Once nap time is over, everything turns serious and we go on the field to run through responsibilities in shorts and cleats. As we’re doing that, Mr Leogrande prepares himself for the herd of people that are about to swarm his office. But he never disappoints. He is the best trainer east of Mastic.
The first players on the field are the quarterbacks, while the others wait impatiently to get out of the locker room and play. Until then, they must sit in their lockers blasting music trying to get mentally ready. When it finally reaches 6:00, the team walks out in two lines holding hands. The four captains walk out first.
Senior captain Zach Rignola said, “The feeling is unexplainable. It’s like being in Friday Night Lights.” The captains go out to do the coin toss, and 48 long minutes after that moment, the whole team is in the end zone anxiously waiting for Coach Parry to come and scream “how bout’ them Hurricanes!” after a well-deserved win. The fun doesn’t start until all the coaches are in the locker room dancing and celebrating.
Come support the football team Friday, October 11th, as we verse Huntington home under the lights at 6:00.