The football regular season is officially over, and that means the jv team has finished all of its games. The team finished with a 6-3 record, earning big wins along the way against tough teams like Pinconning. The team dominated most of their competition, and they blew out a majority of their schedule. The Sharks had their first game Aug. 22, and the team started the season on a high note by absolutely crushing Montabella by the final score of 46-0. The Sharks were matched up against Vasser the following week and shut them out as well, beating them by a final score of 28-0. A week later, the team went into the Pinconning game undefeated, so there was pressure to keep that streak alive. Despite the pressure, the team answered the call. They beat the Spartans by a score of 32-6.

The next week, the team took their first loss of the season to Hemlock by a score of 14-42 in a tough match-up, but they bounced back the next week to win 40-14 against Michigan Lutheran Seminary at Wheeler Field. The team then traveled to Carson-City Crystal High School to crush them 37-0 and to achieve a 5-1 record with three games left in the season. The Sharks then traveled to Ithaca, and, though they fought hard, they lost 0-30. Blake Siefka stated, “Our season got off with a great start. We started our season with three wins and it was a huge confidence booster for the team. Our only problem throughout the year was the attitudes. People before the games against Ithaca and Hemlock had the mindset that we were probably going to lose, and that negative energy kills a team.”

The Sharks then went on to match up against the Bulldogs of St. Charles, and they pounded them 38-0. The last game of the season was at Breckenridge, and it was definitely an exciting game. Both teams were going back in forth with the lead up until the last minute of the game. One notable play was when Andrew Taipalus caught an interception that he ran in for a touchdown in the third quarter to take the lead away from the Huskies. The Sharks were ahead until the last 48 seconds when Breckenridge scored to take the lead away from them. Time eventually ran out, and the Sharks lost 18-24 in a game that many thought they should’ve won. Anthony Carrillo stated, “The Breckenridge game was probably the most intense football game I have ever played in. It was back and forth scoring and a battle until the clock struck zero. Even though we lost, I believe it has us ready to play even harder in the upcoming season.”

Overall, the team had an incredibly outstanding season, and the players and coaching staff should all feel proud of how the team performed. Defensive Coordinator Kevin Stedman commented, “According to my calculations, members of the team that didn’t miss any practice or game contributed 230+ hours of work to help us go 6-3 this year, which is a great record! Hard work always pays off. The coaching staff is very pleased with the effort these young men have brought forth, and we are excited to see how well we can do as a program next year.  If we work hard in the weight room during the offseason, we have a great opportunity to win even more games next year.”

The team looks very promising for the next couple years. The majority of the team is comprised of freshmen, so that means most of this 6-3 team will be playing for three more seasons together! There’s a bright future ahead for St. Louis football. Sophomore Logan Koutz shared, “The team had a long journey of ups and downs throughout the season, beginning with the scrimmage where everyone’s doubt raised after some struggling battles. We came back after that and worked our butts off so we never played like that again. Due to that, we started the season 3-0, only giving up one touchdown in three games. We played some decent teams, like Hemlock and Ithaca, who gave us some losses, but through our team bond and coach Oz’s conditioning, we battled for six wins on the season. This looks really good for the future because those are playoff caliber numbers. And being mainly freshmen means we have good potential for the next few years.”

To finish, the JV football team dominated this year, and the players and coaching staff were obviously very dedicated to being successful, which they accomplished. Blake Siefka added, “Overall, we ended the season 6-3; one of the best JV records to come through in the last 20 years. Our last game ended up being our best, even though we fell to Breckenridge by a touchdown in the last minute. There are high hopes for the future and I can not wait to keep playing with these guys for two more years.”