Seniors make memories with final football game
The stands were packed, alumni returned to the sidelines, and the lights shone on a game that meant more than the 62-30 final score.
For Mead’s senior football players, homecoming was not simply another Friday night. It was one of their final chances to play under the lights with teammates they'd spent years alongside.
Senior running back Wyatt Engel felt the weight of the night before the game even began.
“Playing my last(homecoming) game as a senior really emphasized the importance of the game,” Engel said. “I wanted to go out there and do my very best.”
The homecoming atmosphere added to the intensity. With students, families and alumni filling the stands, the team had a larger crowd watching than on an average Friday night.
“Having all the people there and a bunch of alums came back to watch, I think that just made the energy almost palpable,” Engel said.
Head coach Branden Mills noticed the same energy, but said homecoming can be a challenge for players and coaches. With activities happening throughout the week, keeping the team focused can be difficult.
“From my point of view, from what I tell them during the week, I just always say it’s just another game,” Mills said.
Once the game began, however, Mead’s physicality became difficult to ignore.
Mills said that the team controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, allowing the offense to establish its running game while the defense consistently pressured Parkview Christian.
The senior running backs were a major part of that success. Engel and Abram Lee worked together throughout the game, with Engel throwing two touchdown passes and Lee recording five total touchdowns.
“They both go so hand in hand,” Mills said. “If Abe’s not leading the way blocking for Wyatt, some of Wyatt’s runs don’t break for big gains.”
One of Engel’s favorite moments came on a play that did not go according to plan.
After the pitch went wrong, Engel rolled to the right and called for everyone to go out for a pass. He avoided a defender, threw the ball downfield, and watched the play unfold from behind the line.
He did not know if the pass had been completed.
“I just threw it up, prayed, and apparently it was a pretty good throw because he caught it and it was a touchdown,” Engel said.
Lee had his own memorable play when a fumbled pitch turned into a 53-yard gain after he rolled out and found a teammate downfield.
For Lee, moments like those are part of what has made homecoming special throughout his high school career. After winning his first homecoming game as a freshman, he said the game has carried a different significance ever since.
“It’s always been like a goal—you can’t let that standard down,” Lee said.
Now, a senior class, which also includes Waldo Cruz, is carrying that standard as the season approaches an end unlike any before.
According to Mills, this group is the first senior class at Mead to play six-man football. Their season also carries an added challenge because the team is ineligible for the playoffs, meaning the seniors know exactly how quickly their final opportunities are approaching.
Still, the players are choosing to focus on what remains rather than what is ending.
Engel said his biggest goal for the rest of the season is to win a district championship and make the most of his final games.
“Just enjoy my last moments,” Engel said. “Make the most of the opportunities I get.”
For Engel, Cruz and Lee, the end of football is about more than leaving the field. It means leaving behind the daily practices, road trips, games and friendships that have shaped their high school experience.
“The companionship I built with my teammates,” Engel said when asked what he will miss most. “Those guys are like some of my best friends out there playing a game that we all love.”
As the season moves toward its final games, the homecoming lights have already gone dark. But for Mead’s seniors, the memories made beneath them will remain long after their final game.
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