Seniors Take The Big StageBY JACOB SONNE ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
Last year’s stars are gone. New players will rise. The seniors now take the stage looking to silence the critics and leave their marks.
The football team at Rose suffered big losses on both sides of the ball when the big names and stars of last year’s team graduated. Now, a new group comes forward to take on the challenge of leading a high school football team. They must fill the shoes of last year’s stars and rise to the occasion. “I’m pretty sure if you could ask them, they wouldn’t want anybody else to come up to take their roles but us,” senior wide receiver Marquise Braxton said. However, for these players, it is not all about those who have left before them. Now, they have to lead the underclassman players to prepare them for when they hit the big stage. “I really love it, actually,” senior quarterback Copeland Spell said. “I love leading the guys that I play with; I just love playing football with my teammates.” Not all players respond to the call the same, but they are still accepting of their new role this upcoming season. “It’s a little nerve wracking being a leader this year,” Braxton said. “but that comes with the territory.” Nerves are just part of the process of becoming a leader, though. The seniors must have confidence in themselves stepping into those roles. “I don’t lack confidence in myself,” Spell said. “I try to accept that role and help out the younger guys.” It is all about the team to these new leaders, not themselves. “I’m confident,” senior defensive back Trey Stafford said. “I’ve got to set a good example for the team.” As always, there is a legacy left on the football program by the graduates. Both Stafford and Spell seem anxious to win a state championship for their school. However, these players want to leave their mark individually just as badly as they want the team to be remembered. “I want everybody to know I played every play of every game with all I had, and that I left everything on the field.” Spell said. Overall these leaders have the goals to be the best, individually and as a team, while they take on the 2014 season. “I want to be somebody where they could say he was a captain, he was here,” Braxton said. “I plan on a good year of football.” HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
|