Saturday, September 10th, was senior day at Morristown high school, celebrating their four years in the program and their contributions to the team. This year, the class of 2023 took a few moments to reflect on their experience playing for the Morristown football program and each other.
Team captain Will Galligan spoke for the majority of the seniors when he said he will miss his “teammates” the most after this season is over. Kahleed Sutherland will miss the “team bonding and unity dinners.” This year's seniors have a bond unlike most. They all played through the Covid-19 restrictions, which prevented them from having the typical high school football experience. But this only worked to bring them closer together and all the more grateful to finally get a normal season in their final year.
While their teammates provide them with unity and a sense of belonging, their coaches are certainly not overlooked. They are responsible for their individual growth on and off the field. Aidan Hyer, Jose Torres, and Dan Prachthauser all “learned a lot” from last year's offensive line coach, Scott Jacobus, Morristown’s current defensive coordinator. Finn Rodgers received lots of “wise guidance and life advice” from Coach Z, the wide receiver and defensive back coach. All of them agreed; this was an incredibly difficult decision to make. Every one of their coaches influenced them in different aspects of life and football. They will remember all of them fondly.
It is hard to believe that the class of 2023 used to be four years away from graduation. When looking back on their freshman year, many of them wish they could have known all that they know today. Captain Aaron Andino wishes he didn’t “take opportunities for granted” and to “always want to play.” To sum it up, as Aidan Hyer put it, it “gets better by the end.”
What no one could have ever predicted was the unprecedented strike of Covid in 2020 that unfortunately altered their sophomore and junior football seasons. Captain Trey Buchner wishes he could have “another senior season” after this one due to the prevalence of Covid in his past seasons. Others wish to go back to freshman year, because, as Torres explained, there were “no expectations.” For Patrick Scanlon, freshman year was “always good times.”
But, despite the challenges of Covid, the players have nothing but positive words to describe their football experience at Morristown. Jayson Castro had an overall “fun” experience, agreeing with Jose Torres and Patrick Scanlon. “Legendary” was the word Buchner chose. Aidano strongly believes in their slogan this year, “one.” “One play at a time. One week at a time. One day at a time. One team.”
They have lived up to this slogan. The senior class seems almost like a family, having created a strong team comradery on and off the field. Their win against Millburn was a reflection of this bond. The final score was a mighty 45-7, making their record at that time, 2-1.
They will all be sad when it is over but for now, they take it “one day at a time.”
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