A big issue for sports teams is having to rebuild after losing the previous year’s seniors. This season, the Panthers will rely on 12. Four of those seniors are returning to football after not playing for years.
Seniors Lucas Hamilton, Jackson Schwieger, and Noah Santos have all previously been a part of the Starr’s Mill football program but left only to return during their senior year. Morgan Williams steps onto the field for the first time ever as a senior kicker. Hamilton will play for the first time since middle school, Schwieger and Santos for the first time since freshman year.
So the question is why? Why return to the football program in your senior year despite not playing for years?
“You love having those guys out, but you do wish you had them the previous two or three years,” head coach David Cooper said. “They have the potential to be really good. We just need to figure out what to do with them.”
The truth is that the football program is one of the biggest parts of Starr’s Mill culture. From the student section to the actual gameplay, everyone wants to feel like they are part of the team.
“This football program has been a staple of this school and this community. It has had a lot of success, and so I think that’s what brings kids back,” Cooper said. “They watched it from the student section last year and they want to be a part of it.”
Coming back, however, will not be easy. The football team will need to relearn their footing throughout the season. This was proved last Friday when Panthers fell short 27-21 against the Northgate Vikings where these new seniors all restarted.
Senior Blake Turner led the team rushing 22 times for 94 yards. He was followed by junior Braden Burkhalter rushing 14 times for 93 yards, completing 8 of 16 passes for 117 yards, and throwing for one touchdown.
Junior Layton Hicks led a trio of receivers. Hicks had one reception for 27 yards followed by Hamilton with one reception for 23 yards. Junior Jack Murphy had one reception for 18 yards and one touchdown.
“It’s hard, but, at the end of the day, you want to play your senior year, so you do whatever you can to play on Friday nights,” Hamilton said.
These seniors will have to adjust to new positions and put in the extra work in order to get playing time. Having to catch up on years of repetition and position work will be the biggest challenge for the Panthers.
“It’s been a lot of new positions and everyone’s putting in extra work in learning their position better, in the weight room, on the field, and even in the classroom with film,” Santos said.
The Panthers will put this work into action at their next game this Friday against the Wildcats at Whitewater High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.