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Junior Adversity Football
Photo Credit: Cody Berkeley
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Written by Reece Pritchard, Staff Writer
It’s Thursday night, 24 hours away from the hustle and bustle that a varsity football game brings, but now a hidden gem shines. The unsung heroes take the field, and kickoff to the junior varsity football game commences. It’s the Allen Eagles, ripe for the plucking, against the school’s very own football team, hot off their win over Plano West.
Going to see a JV game is like being part of a Sunday softball league, little notice with an attendance to match. But there’s something that rings through the Kimbrough stadium during a JV match. The game’s atmosphere is that of an un-heard, underground release of some obscure garage rock album. It’s raw; it’s undistorted, a sort of tongue-and-cheek feel to it. JV games are not as flashy as a Friday night game. Two different stages set for two different nights. But the heart and soul of a football game still exists and shows up where ever a football game is played in the state of Texas.
After the tough loss to Wylie high school, the Panthers headed into Thursday’s game against Allen with a sense of confidence, regained by a late fourth quarter victory over the Plano Wildcats, and a manhandling of the Plano West wolf pack. The focus now shifted to Allen, a team worthy of a rivalry game. As fans take their seats near the 50-yard line, the school spirit is set a blaze and the JV team charges onto the field with a low budget entrance, cheerleaders in two lines forming a human isle with pom-poms shaking. The crowd voices their opinions before kickoff.
“Oh we’re feeling awesome,” junior Joe Holweger said. “It’s a great night and I’m feeling some positive energy. There’s something about this. There’s a whole different kind of energy.”
After a fierce standoff, the first half rears by, leaving both the home and visitor teams tied at six. Extra points are hard to come by when the kicking talent suits up only for varsity games. The crowd’s support still strong, whose team chants even surpass the cheerleader’s calls, going into the second half.
The third quarter rolled by, and the crowd lost its steam, for this is when Allen began its blitzkrieg. Smashing down field with an unstoppable offense and their defense halting East’s advancements, the game turned sour for the team in black and gold. The finale score tallied up with Allen over Plano East, 28-6.
With this loss, the mighty JV team fell to the city up north, and the crowd moped, downtrodden. The crowd is what drives these games, the constant raw-raw that emerges from spirited parents give off that support that a team builds off of. But as the clock winded down only harping and verbal criticism could be heard, the calling out of numbers, belonging to the players who apparently were not bringing their A-game and failing to carry out their duties on the field. Sore grunts and sighs were shouted out once the game came to an end, and the crowd began shuffling, ready to leave. They gathered their coats, jackets, padded seats and cameras and started off to the parking lot. For once the feeling, the liveliness that JV games bring was dead. The saying of “wait till next time,” wasn’t uttered, instead you got, “We lost, it’s over.” There was no other way to put it.
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