He’s number nine on the field but number one in eagle hearts. A star of screen, green, and gold, Barrett Rhodes is one senior who stands out from the crowd at Enloe High School. Whether you have seen him on the football field leading his team to victory, on the ’Loe Down bringing you your morning announcements, or in class proclaiming his love for Jelle’s Marble Runs, there’s no denying that Barrett has range.
Enloe Football
Barrett’s versatility shows on the football team, where he has played as a quarterback, cornerback, and wide receiver. He has been playing the sport since he was little, but his high school football career certainly wasn’t always easy.
Barrett started football at Enloe as one of five freshmen on the varsity team in 2020 and described the difficulty of playing on the team that year. “It was during the winter, so it was cold, and we didn’t have a junior varsity team, so me and Ethan Neptune, the other backup quarterback, would literally wear sweatshirts under our pads, and have hand warmer packets inside our hand warmers,” not to mention running with masks under helmets. Barrett, spinning a positive on the unfortunate situation, added that “everything after that was definitely a lot easier to do, so in a way it set us both up for success because nothing was ever going to be harder than that.”
Barrett captained Enloe’s first junior varsity team in 5 years in his sophomore year, moved back up to the varsity team to start during his junior and senior years, and eventually captained the varsity team his senior year. In his final game with the team on October 27th, he racked up 120 receiving yards against Athens Drive.
Barrett said that his senior year with the team was by far his favorite. “For the first time in a long time we won multiple games, and being able to deliver a homecoming win was a good time,” he said.
’Loe Down
Barrett’s adaptability on screen equals that on the field. “It’s funny because they kind of do different things for me: with football I’m a lot more reserved because that’s the role that’s needed there,” he said. “As you become influential as a senior to some of the younger players it’s not your responsibility to be lackadaisical and joking around, versus on the ’Loe Down it’s a lot more about creative freedom and expression where I allow myself to open up a bit more.”
Barrett said that being involved in film production at Enloe was always a goal for him. He was in a TV production class his sophomore year, where he made a successful mockumentary about PDA at school. After joining Eagle Productions his junior year, his special on a basketball game got nominated for best sports program of the year. As a senior, Barrett added the responsibility of being a ’Loe Down anchor.
Takeaways
Barrett’s biggest supporters from his time at Enloe were his parents, who he said pushed him to grow. “They set realistically high standards that as a teenager you don’t always have for yourself academically,” he said. “Without that loose outside pressure I don’t think I would be as academically successful.”
Coming to Enloe from Moore Square, where he went to middle school, was a big shift for Barrett to adjust to. While Enloe can seem like a large school to any freshman, Barrett emphasized that he “went to a middle school with like 600 people, so it was a new experience.” Despite this challenge, Barrett said that “a lot of the students here are very supportive if you get to know them,” specifically shouting out his friends for making the transition easier.
“Don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of people and the idea of academic pressure, and just find a group of people that you can gel with personally,” was Barrett’s advice for future Enloe students. “That will make the school seem a lot smaller.”
After Enloe
Barrett plans to go to film school post graduation, and has toured UNC School of the Arts in Winston Salem, Savannah College of Art and Design, and UNC Wilmington for film. “[Film is] a place where you don’t have to go into a cubicle and you can have some creative freedom,” he said. “If you’re interested in the work you’re doing it’s going to be higher quality.” No matter where he ends up, Barrett’s future is bright, and we can’t wait to see where this eagle scholar lands.
