Farewell, Seniors

Seniors spend their last games on the Liberty field

Lauren Spakowski

Seniors Cooper Terrell, Gabe Gonzalez and Jeremiah Williams embrace at the end of the senior night football game.

Mollie Banstetter, Reporter
October 28, 2019

Friday night football games are something that many students at Liberty look forward to – especially with the season that our boys have had this year. With the season coming to a close, the 2020 seniors just recently played their last regular season game on the home field.

The seniors are part of the first bunch of kids playing football for our emerging program.

“Its kinda cool knowing that when we started, we obviously weren’t very good and have built the program into what it is now and to watch what it will be like in the future is pretty cool,” said senior player Cooper Terrell, whose team begins the postseason Friday at home against Fort Zumwalt South.

In an email to the school, athletic and activities director Mr. Eldredge, announced that Liberty is currently ranked No. 1 in our football district. Even though the program is young, the seniors have contributed a lot to it.

“The senior class is really special, they have grown the most in their leadership. They were able to see where our program needed to be better and then took action in making us a better program,” said Coach Ryan McMillen.

Due to the hard work of the team, the seniors are a part of a record-breaking season.

“Beating Timberland for the first time ever, was definitely really fun and so is having the first-ever winning season in school history,” senior player Mitchell Eckardt said.

“I have bonded a lot with the coaches and players, because football is a sport that brings you and everyone on the team together,” Terrell said. 

“Every Thursday, we help with the feeding of the football team and it’s a proud feeling when your grandson walks into the room,” said Bobbie Cradick, Terrell’s grandmother. Cradick talks about how much she’s going to miss watching her first grandson play football for Liberty every Friday night. “You’ve watched them as little guys and thinking there really something and grow up into wearing their uniform proudly, and they’re proud of their team. They’ve just come a long way and you enjoy every step of it. Every year it gets better and better.”

The 2020 senior class has done a lot to improve the school academically and athletically, and you can see that their hard work pays off on the field. At first, we had a fledgling football team and now, because of the hard work our seniors have put in, we are becoming an emerging team, forced to be reckoned with.

“They have 100% bought into what it means to be a student and athlete at Liberty High School, which is being ‘uncommon,’” Coach McMillen said.