In a nail-biting scrimmage game against the Pepperell High Dragons, the Cass High Colonels were falling short, until the game-winning field goal sinched the win. Kaleb Speights, a junior at Cass, initially missed when he kicked the ball. However, when the Pepperell Dragons were called for roughing the kicker, they unintentionally gave him another chance at a field goal. His second attempt was good leading the Colonel to a 23 -23 win over the Dragons.

The crowd went wild, the student section, the band, and the cheerleaders all screamed in enthusiasm and rushed to the field. Cass High had won.

Maybe it’s luck or maybe it’s hindsight bias, but the football players said they felt confident going into the game. “I felt confident going into the scrimmage knowing how hard the team has worked in the offseason,” Speights states. “I had no idea it would come down to another field goal, as it did the Pepperell game last year. When I made the kick, I felt overly excited and accomplished because I knew the team was counting on me, and I was able to pull through for them. Without [the team], I wouldn’t have been put in that situation to score in the last second.” Speights highlighted that the Colonels played with passion and came to win.

Likewise, Tajh Dawson, a senior and wide receiver, also believed the game would end with the Colonels victorious.  “Honestly, I [thought we would] win the scrimmage because we work hard every day. It’s time for us to change the culture of this football team.”

“I [had] faith in my brothers and my teammates, and we all went out there Friday with a mentality to win,” Senior James “JP” Perry, a slot receiver, says. “We had it set in our minds we were going to come out on top. Getting that second chance at another field goal was game-changing. I knew if we got a second chance, Kaleb was going to make it without a doubt.”

When the game was over, the football team, the cheerleaders—everyone—was ecstatic. “After the game,” Dawson says, “the locker room was full of great energy everyone [was] happy celebrating our first wins of many this season everyone did their job, so everyone can leave with a smile on their faces after the game.” The locker room seemed to be a vibrant burst of energy.

Yet, it wasn’t just the locker room that was energetic; the crowd seemed to be the same way. Veteran cheerleader Nikki Anderson felt the same way about the crowd. “The energy was the best out of any game I’ve been to,” she states. Many people felt that this scrimmage was the best game they had ever been to because the energy of the students was like no other.

This scrimmage may not define or be the highlight of this season, but it does give the Colonels confidence heading into this week’s game against cross-town rivals the Adairsville, Tigers.