Vengeful visit

Football team looks to take revenge on Frisco Wakeland after last year’s loss

Caleb Stein, Staff Reporter • September 2, 2016

Senior Chad Hesson breaks through the defense for a downfield run in the Tom Landry Classic against Argyle High School.

The football team (0-1) welcomes Frisco Wakeland (1-0) to Leopard Stadium tonight at 7:30 p.m. and, after last year’s 45-33 loss, senior center Cole Egger said the team has one thing in mind.

Payback.

“For me, this year is about improving on what we started last year,” Egger said. “That starts right now, and it ends once we’ve accomplished that. We definitely underperformed against them [Wakeland] last year, and we want to show we shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

For Wakeland, senior running back Jay Orji will be one of the main threats in the coming game, after posting 306 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the game last year. Senior receiver Cole Hutchens will also be a threat, after catching eight passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s game.

“I remember that Orji killed us last year,” senior defensive lineman Chase Barajas said. “We couldn’t do anything to stop him from breaking off on those big runs. He was fast, broke through tackles like nothing, and outran us all game long.”

The process of gelling together is a common challenge among new teams, and it is no different this year. However, the team has begun working well together even with new players and coaches which has led to what senior receiver Abe Dueck called big changes for the team as a whole.

“We have an almost completely new coaching staff and multiple new guys joining the team,” Dueck said. “My teammates have done a great job adapting to the change and their ways of doing things. We are all motivated to be great this year, and we take on every practice as if it is our last.”

After suffering a 33-21 defeat in last week’s season opener against Argyle at Allen Eagle Stadium, the team is preparing to play a better all-around game against Wakeland. In last week’s game, Argyle running back Don Williams ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns, which could spell trouble for the defense against Orji if they don’t fix the holes.

“I believe that we are a very good team, and there isn’t any reason that we shouldn’t be able to fix any issues from past games.” Egger said. “We work hard in practice every day to adjust to different teams and their gameplans. We are always prepared for the next step.”

After all the practice, film sessions, and preparation the team has gone through, and after enduring what Egger called growing pains, the team is ready and excited for its home opener against Wakeland.

“We as a team have done a substantial amount of preparation throughout the week,” Dueck said. “Film really helps us see the mistakes we make in game situations and help us understand what we need to do to fix it. We are ready for Wakeland.”

About the Contributors

Caleb Stein, TRL Reporter

Caleb Stein, now in his senior year of high school, is excited to be coming back to The Red Ledger staff for his second year. While many things have changed since his freshman year, there are some things about Caleb that have never changed, such as his search for classes that give him the least amount of work possible and his impressively dry humor that routinely gets him in hot water mistakenly. Caleb is a sports fan, especially of football and basketball, but he finds himself watching less basketball as the Warriors get more stacked. Caleb is a confident person, a quality that some may find off-putting. But he is very genuine and sincere and a very good person if one gets to know him. He also loves poker, but his lack of money is a hampering on that hobby. He is extremely proficient in tasks that have no value whatsoever, such as trashketball, not being able to dunk, and having back problems like an 80-year-old man. For all his “skills,” Caleb is not perfect and works to grow as both a person and a journalist throughout his senior year.

Parker Nolan, Section Editor

Senior Parker Nolan joined The Red Ledger in ninth grade and is now the paper’s Multimedia Editor. His hobbies include making music, photography, and borderline dangerous escapades (some consider him an adrenaline junkie). Parker is currently dual enrolled at Collin College for Emergency Medical Services education to become an EMT. His favorite movie is “The Italian Job,” and his favorite genres of music are alternative rock and rap. "Be the change you want to see in the world,” a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, is a phrase that Parker tries to live his life by. In his spare time, Parker enjoys working out, hanging with friends, and exploding fireworks. Parker can be described as sometimes chill, sometimes adrenaline filled, and a little too confident in his abilities.