45-35, the score that broke a two year, 20 game losing streak for the Redhawk football team and led to the team’s first win of the season on Friday against Wakeland at the Ford Center. 

It’s a score that will be remembered as the 2019-2020 roster’s legacy and a game that left a lasting impression on almost everyone involved whether on the field, or in the stands. 

The players

“Not only was this the last game of the season, it was my last football game ever, so to finish my football career like this makes me one of the happiest people on Earth,” senior Cole Jackson said. “This season there was passion, dedication, and brotherhood, there wasn’t a whole lot of that feeling last year. No one else got to see all the hard work and sweat we put in throughout the offseason, summer, and season and that’s probably what I will remember the most. All the blood, sweat, and tears finally paying off.” 

For fellow football player, senior Ethan Qualls, the game was proof of the team’s determination from the first whistle to come out with a win. 

“Nothing changed in the mentality from the beginning to the end,” Qualls said. “We knew we were going to win and that’s what we did. I’ll remember the win for sure, but also just the family atmosphere with this group.” 

The head coach 

Throughout the week leading up to the game, head coach Matt Swinnea made sure the team was prepared to leave it all on the turf. 

“This was definitely our most sustained effort and it showed,” he said. “We talked all week about how we had no reason to hold anything back and that we should have to drag them off the field because they were spent. They did just that.”

Swinnea believes the Redhawk’s potential for consistency and determination shone through. 

“​We finally put together a game with no turnovers and an exceptional 3rd down conversion percentage,” Swinnea said. “We responded to adversity and made some huge plays down the stretch. It really was a fantastic effort and performance by everyone.”

Finishing the season out with a win, he hopes to send seniors off feeling as though their hard work was worth the hardships. 

“For the seniors, this is ultimately a memory that they can hang on to and appreciate after all the adversity they have endured and hard work that they have put in,” Swinnea said. “Everyone is smiling around here.”

As for the program’s future, Swinnea hopes to use this victory as momentum moving forward. 

“​It is certainly a weight lifted off of everyone,” he said. “Our theme all year has been #LetItBegin and while it seems to have taken a while to get going, we feel like we are on the right path. Anyone that has paid attention has seen our improvement and we see this victory as a catalyst to achieving great things in the near future. 

The cheerleaders 

Excitement filled the away side of the stadium for everyone involved.

“It felt really good,” senior Bailey Wright said via text. “We were all so excited and we could see how excited the football players and students were too. It was a really good way to end the year especially for the seniors because it was the first time we had won. I think it’s letting us leave on a really positive note.”

The feeling of accomplishment was mutual down the sideline, as StuCo vice president and co-cheer captain, senior Rileigh Horcher felt the win made Friday a night to remember. 

“My initial reaction was that I was so proud of our team and so excited that we got to celebrate as a student body,” Horcher said via text. “Our players are always winners in our eyes but to see them get the recognition for the immense amount of hard work they put into every game was the best part. The energy in the stadium during the game was electric and it was by far my favorite game I’ve cheered at all four years and a memory I’ll never forget.” 

The fans 

School spirit wasn’t any less prominent in the stands, as junior Chris Jones felt proud to see the team end on a high note. 

“It feels amazing and a fan, the seniors said they wanted to go out with a bang and they really did,” Jones said. “Wakeland is a powerful team. It was one thing to beat them but on their Homecoming game, it was electric.”

Junior Thais Fernandez hopes the victory against the Wolverines means a bright future for the football program. 

“It feels unreal that we broke the record, especially since it was Wakeland’s Homecoming game,” Fernandez said. “For next year, I think that we won’t go 1-9. I feel like we have a better chance of winning more games, and hopefully going on to playoffs.”

The drill team

For some girls on the drill team, this was their first winning experience.

“I personally joined drill team my sophomore year, so this is my second year and I’d never seen them win until Friday, because I didn’t go to any football games my freshman year,” junior Urja Joshi said. “That’s what was so special about the win on Friday night is not only that it was the first win in about two years, but it was also the first win for many of the girls on drill team.”

After watching a disappointed team leave the field week in and week out, the energy level on Friday night was refreshing for Joshi.

“The fact that we did win against Wakeland on their homecoming night and their senior night, that was a huge ego boost for us,” Joshi said. “As a spirit team, seeing the football players like trying to cheer them up and get them hype and then seeing them so dejected losing every game is disheartening for us too. Watching them win just completely raised our energy levels and our spirit.”

The band

This win brought with it immense school spirit for the last game of the season.

“I felt like the crowd went wild, it was the first time that I had ever seen Liberty be so proud and crazy about the football team,” trombone player, freshman Lily Peinhardt said. “The student section, parents, and band kids were all jumping up and down, and the school spirit really surged. Friday’s game was special to me because I got to see the joy in leaving classmates’ faces as their last game was the best one they’d had in two years.”

Ending their 20 game losing streak was especially monumental for the seniors with this being their last high school football game.

“It was awesome to finally see a win especially after experiencing so many close games that turned out to be losses,” trombone player, senior Kyle Wang said. “It was special since it was my last game and we beat Wakeland. Performing all season long at games gave me a greater appreciation for the win as I have been through and watched all the previous games during our losing streak.”

When the clock struck down to the final seconds of the fourth quarter, unity could be seen throughout the student, band, and Red Rhythm sections as well as on the field.

“It seemed like more than a win for the team, it was a win for Liberty as a whole,” percussionist, sophomore Hunter Ritchie said. “This was special to me because it was the first time I got to cheer for a winning team, and go home victorious. It means a lot because it feels like we are in it together. If they lose, we lose, if they win, we win. It makes us feel like we are united under a common goal. Winning that game.”