Tonight, the Warren Central football team has a home game at 7:00 p.m. against conference rival Lawrence Central, who ended the Warriors’ season last fall. This is also the night of Homefest, which is an evening filled with fun and games, which wraps up with a football game. The team needs as much fan support as it can get to succeed against the Bears.
“I turned around at the first game and I saw everyone in the PIT just cheering and celebrating everything and it's a really big motivation, especially when we start losing and they're still cheering and everything, trying to keep our spirits up. It's nice to know that you have a family of students behind you cheering no matter what,” senior kicker Elijah Slibeck said.
A big motivation for them is coming back from the loss against the Bears in the first round of sectionals last season. The Warriors are determined to prove that they have what it takes to fight back and win this game.
“I think we're gonna come out really strong because last year we didn't. Last year we thought it was gonna be an easy game, so we didn't go in there a hundred percent prepared, but this time we'll be ready and we'll be able to come back and beat them,” assistant coach William Hudgins said.
Head coach Mike Kirschner added that they would not look upon it negatively.
“We do not dwell on the past, we have to focus on the present and find a way to get better each day,” Kirschner said.
During the game itself, the team has some goals that they are hoping to accomplish. They have been hard at work during the offseason preparing for big games like these.
All goals are the same, win. We also have to defend the Eastside. We always talk about being the Pride of the Eastside and you need to show up on game night and do it,” Kirschner said.
To accomplish this feat, they are doing a lot of work behind the scenes that will help in the long run. They believe that it will all come together and end in a successful night.
“We usually try to prepare in much the same way each week. Each day we have different points of emphasis, different parts of the game that we focus on, and then certain specific things that they do that we can take advantage of and then other things they do well that we have to be prepared for,” Hudgins said.
One last huge part of games like these is the rivalry itself. Being so close to each other, playing in the same conference, and the competition from the last couple of years is everything that players and fans could want from a rivalry.
“There's always kind of those little rivalry things that get guys focused, but also gets [them] motivated for a great outcome,” Hudgins said.
Overall, the team has one goal, which is to win, and they are doing everything they can to do it.
“We’ll be ready and we’ll be able to come back and beat them,” Slibeck said.