Friday Night Lights are a staple of the high school experience. Green and gold cover the stands, ‘Seven Nation Army’ plays from the marching band section, and chants echo through the audience. But this is just the surface; behind the scenes is a community of players that put their heart and soul into the game. As the season wraps up, with the team having now made playoffs two years in a row, the players are reflecting on an intense run of wins, losses, and comebacks that have only brought them closer together. Under the leadership of Head Coach Ryan Clark and many others, this is Enloe football.
“It’s been good to see how close your teammates get to you, just [going] from complete strangers to hav[ing] full conversations with them and [wanting] to spend time with them and stuff like that on the field and off the field,” said Zach Vaughn (#40, varsity defensive lineman). Never having “touched a football” before this year, this was Vaughn’s first season. Despite this, Vaughn quickly found his place in the community. “At first you don’t know anyone,” said Vaughn, “but by a few weeks into the season, you pretty much know everyone by name, and you just talk to everyone.”
On the JV team, something similar emerges, explains Aaron McKenna (#55, JV defensive lineman). While at first the team is isolated “because it’s all the new players,” as the season progresses, bonds form, even between varsity and JV. “After only a few weeks, me, Zach, Derek, and a few other people went out to Cracker Barrel,” said McKenna. The ease of these friendships, old and new, is representative of the broader team community.
While they may seem trivial, these bonds have a real impact on the team. The JV team lost against Southeast early in the season but went on to win their next three games, demonstrating their growth in both individual skill and their ability to play as a team. “The improvements that all of our players have made [are] just amazing,” said McKenna.
The varsity team continued a winning streak from the season before, making it to the playoffs two years in a row. “We’ve definitely proved a lot of people wrong … We’ve just really outperformed our standards as a team and everyone has played a part in that,” said Vaughn.
On Friday, Nov. 7, they had their first playoff round against Panther Creek. While unfortunately Enloe lost, the game still felt like “making history” for player Noah West (#34, varsity cornerback). He explained that, despite the loss, it was “was a great feeling” making playoffs “back to back” years, even if “things just clicked too late.”
Nevertheless, the season was still a resounding success, showcasing immense skill and a growing track record (6-5 this season). Yet, some Enloe students still underestimate the team.
“[Going] into Enloe, as a freshman I just heard ‘Enloe is terrible at football. Football sucks. We haven’t won a game in forever.’ But then last year, I had friends on the football team, and they were doing good things, and they went to the playoffs,” said Vaughn. While this is a claim made broadly about Enloe sports, it’s particularly harmful to the football team. If the student body doesn’t respect or care about the players, and game attendance is hurt as a result, the team feels it.
Conversely, when students are excited about games, it supports the players. “The more people that are [at the game], the more excited the players will be to play in it,” said McKenna. Recently, Eagle Club, the team, and other Enloe organizations have encouraged the student body to give games more attention.
“After a game, I look on Instagram, [and] it’s a bunch of Friday Night Lights … and I think that’s just cool,” said Vaughn. He described how spirit nights collaborating with MBSA or the Arts Guild, as well as themed games, allow every student to “put their own thing on it” rather than “just watching a game.”
For any of our teams, filling the stands, showing off your green and gold, and participating in gameday activities is not only a fun way to spend your evening, but makes our school community even stronger. Sko Eags!
