After a devastating varsity loss Friday night at the Providence Bowl, the JV football team suffered another blow at the hands of the Kewpies Saturday, Sept. 22 at Hickman High School.
The 26 – 20 defeat leaves the Bruin JV team 1 – 3.
With the sting of the Providence Bowl loss still fresh on their backs, the team came out ready for to avenge the Sept. 21 beating at the hands of the Kewpies.
Offensive lineman junior Brayden Parker said the outcome of Friday’s game drove everyone to work a little harder in their second take on HHS.
“Losing to Hickman the night before really fired us up,” Parker said. “For a little while on Friday night we were sad and upset that we didn’t beat such a big rival as Hickman. But Saturday was a new day and while we couldn’t change what happened in the past, we had [an] effect on what went on in the future. … So we came in focused, full of controlled energy, and ready to fight for what we deserved. We came in thinking we were the better team and were ready to show it.”
Though the team carried enthusiasm and determination into Saturday’s game, disappointment prevailed for the second time in 24 hours. Sophomores Josh Broadus and Xavier Bivens and junior Elishah Peat scored touchdowns, though it wasn’t quite enough to push the team over the edge to victory.
However, Parker said their efforts were not in vain, and the lessons the Bruins learned from both will make the team persevere with more intensity and focus than before.
“You hate to lose to someone that you work so hard to play against. And to come so close just like we had the previous night is indescribable,” Parker said. “You feel awful; you feel like nothing’s ever going to be OK, and nothing can fix it. But at the same time it was OK because as a team we played especially well.  … Together as one team we fought together for four quarters with crazy fast energy and we came up a little short. And while it hurts to lose like that, we move forward towards next week, and we need to replicate the intensity and cohesiveness that we showed on Saturday for the rest of the season.”
By Alyssa Sykuta