The first football game of the season; fans packed the stadium at Lovejoy High School dressed to the nines in Leopard apparel, ready to cheer on their team for a new season. The opposing team and state defending champions was the Argyle Eagles. With the heavy losses of last year’s graduating class on the team’s starting lineup, many of the eleven who stepped onto the field were juniors.

One such junior is Quarterback Zack Saffle, who proved his worth by scoring both of the touchdowns for the Leopards, one in the second quarter and one in the fourth. Another junior new to the playing field was Matt Sims, who gave a strong performance as kicker, with a field goal in addition to the successful kick-off and 1-point conversions. Other juniors playing were Drew Scolaro, Slayton Shiels, Brian Hesson, and Austin Turnbow.

After the first quarter, the Eagles had developed a lead of 7-3, which was not relinquished for the rest of the game. By half time, the score was 13-3. Although the Leopards scored a touchdown in the third quarter and almost recovered an Eagle fumble in the end zone in the third quarter, the score increased to 10-30. Despite the fact that Saffle would touch down again, the final score was 17-42, with the Eagles coming out on top.