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Zimo Xie

PREGAME PLANS. Coach Ced talked about the game plan with the players during a timeout at the start of the game.

The billowing wind, the 50 degree Fahrenheit weather and a brightly-lit field with a crowd cheering vigorously for their favorite teams. What do these all have in common? It all took place at this year’s Homecoming football game at Blake’s Gordy Aamoth Stadium this Friday.

This game was tough and rocky for the SMB Wolfpack against the Totino-Grace Eagles. After aggressive plays and heated tackles, the Homecoming game resulted in the Wolfpack losing 7-35 at the end of the fourth quarter.

The game’s first play began with a kickoff from the Wolfpack, and the game started rolling from there.

Each play started with the players lining up along the line of scrimmage, an imaginary, transversal line on the field that players cannot cross until the play begins. This play went on for the entire game, and the first half passed by quickly.

At the start of the second half of the game, the score was 0-14, with the Eagles in the lead. Despite the Wolfpack falling behind in scores, the team was not behind on teamwork and student support.

Senior Connor Overgaard said, “We had probably the biggest student turnout at the game today, and I know for the players, the bigger the turnout and the louder the students are, the more fun it is.”

As the players waited for the center to snap the ball to start the play, tension rose in the air and amongst the crowd. Everyone was laser-focused on the field and the athletes, anticipating what was to happen next.

As the third quarter progressed towards the last few minutes, the score kept increasing in the Eagle’s favor, and the crowd bellowed out encouragement and cheers. Suddenly, the Wolfpack’s player #25, Grady Rannow from Blake, caught the ball, broke through the line of defense, and scored SMB’s first touchdown of the night.

The crowd roared and screamed, and many athletes congratulated each other with high-fives, chest bumps, and fist bumps. Smiles erupted on the Wolfpack athletes’ faces, and after a quick celebration, the team moved on to the next play in high spirits.

Post-game, sophomore Bennett Sauer said, “I’m a little disappointed. I feel like we could have done better. We played well though, and it’s a tough team. […] I was thinking that we should be up some more points, but our defense played well, and offense played well.”

During the game, the Wolfpack had two takeaways on defense, which was a new record for them this season. The team plans on making new records as the season progresses, and their playoffs begin in three weeks.

The Wolfpack football team will play their next game on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. against Providence Academy.

This story was updated Oct. 12.