Not many moments are as emotional for high school seniors as the one they experience walking off the football field for the final time. All those hours getting ready and painting up or getting the pads on all come to an end. The thrill of driving to the football games to cheer on our school while wearing the craziest thing possible for the theme of the night was indescribable. I am only a junior and will experience all of this again next year as well as the lower classmen, but for the seniors, the end is here. 

According to Cayl Garland, a senior football player, he is going to “miss going to Subway before every game and grabbing two gatorades and a sandwich for after the game.” The moments he is going to miss the most is being with his team everyday: the team in which he has known and played with for the past ten years. “They are like my family. We created a bond that no one will be able to break.” What’s even more heartbreaking is that high school football players do not normally go on to play in college, so it is very sentimental after their last football game because it will be the last time they play competitively. 

 McKayla Thompson, a senior cheerleader, will miss “the energy of waking up every Friday knowing it’s game day.” In addition to this, she will also miss kicking for every touchdown scored by the Kings and standing in front of the crowd. What Thompson will miss the most is the bond of her team and the crazy memories they made each time they were together. “I just wanted to thank all of the girls for making this year my best.”

 According to Thompson, her favorite memory was when the Kings crushed Pioneer in the first game of the season. “The energy of this game was bursting out of the stadium as everyone was fired up for our team. The smile on the boy’s faces at the end of the game said it all.” 

Leader of the paint crew, Samuel Miller, also had some statements to declare. We all know Sam Miller, a senior, makes videos, posts, and comments to hype up our football games. We also know that Miller has been getting a lot of backlash from it. When asked if Miller regrets anything, his answer was, “I have made some stupid posts and said some stupid things, but at the end of the day, it grew the brand.” Miller also stated that he will miss painting up for the football games the most and that his favorite memories were “the road trips in my truck to away games. We celebrated wins, sang songs, and bonded on those trips.” That is what high school is all about: bonding.

What many people often forget, or choose to ignore, is the band. The band performs every home game at halftime and each person performs to the best of their ability. Katelyn Schreckenghaust, a senior who plays the flute phenomenally, will miss hanging out with her friends in the stands when they were not playing their instruments. “We were able to just joke around with each other and enjoy watching the game.” Schreckenghaust said, “I think I would have liked to become closer with some of my best friends in the band earlier on in the year because this was my last season. I’m glad I became closer with a lot of people, but I wish it would have happened sooner so I had more time with them.” 

Garrett McCleland, and the others I interviewed, were all asked the same question: “Did you have any regrets?” Each replied either “no” or wishing to have painted up for more games. Each senior will surely miss the thrill of the games and everything that came with it, but the rest of the school will also miss the seniors. “It definitely lived up to my expectations,” said McCleland. This is not only a goodbye to football season for the seniors, but to each other.