High school homecoming games, what makes them so important to the student body? What about them is different from regular old football games?​​​​ The high pressure situation puts a lot of stress on everybody involved: players, cheerleaders, even the student body. 

While on the field the players receive the brunt of the pressure, the question is, how do they keep their confidence levels up long enough to play the game? When asked what impacts him most as a player, Horizon senior and football player Timmy Kimberling says, “fear of losing.” Kimberling elaborates on this idea by speaking about Hawk Nation, and how he felt that if they lost the homecoming game it would let down “the fans.” Another player, and senior on the team, Peyton Hill, agrees that letting the fans down was the biggest fear shared amongst the team for this game. Other players mentioned the idea that they were telling fans and friends they were going to win and how that was nerve racking because they were unsure of the win and didn’t want to be seen as liars. Some players, such as Sam Van Es, a junior on the team, exuded a lot of confidence when it came to this game and exclaimed his love for the team. He says, “I love everybody and so I didn’t have any nerves.”

The players explained that they were all both excited and scared for this game. Junior football player Gabriel Van Sickle touches on his readiness for the game by saying, “I felt like ambitious and ready to play,” he continues to talk about how having his friends there to cheer him on gave him something “to feed off of to be able to play.”

A big part of this game is the fans! At the game the student section was ready to watch their friends and fellow classmates play. Part of being a fan includes going all out for the Friday Night Lights themes, this particular game was pink out! Many fans showed their support by being decked out in pink. Some of these fans were seniors Nathaniel Norton and Caden Ulibarri. The boys talk about how this game is more exciting based on the attendance of the game and the opportunity we have as a nation to win. “No, this is the only game we will win,” Ulibarri says when asked if there was a fear about losing this game. This is followed by Norton saying “you gotta believe!”

The coaches are another key component to the games. Without them, there is no team. When interviewed Coach Palmer talks about how the coaching he tries to use is intense, he says, “I expect my players to play with intensity.” While talking about the intensity of his coaching, he brings up how he often praises his players and encourages them, emphasizing to them that “they need to be the best man they need to be first then become a good football player.” 

Overall, the outcome of this game was a win for Hawk Nation! With a winning score of 47-0. Through all the pressures from the week leading up, to the fans in the stands, and the coaching on the side lines, the football boys pulled through for their community. Go Hawks, go!