On a rainy Wednesday night, the Highland Rams football team hoisted the Region X trophy into the sky after beating Jordan, the final team on their schedule, deeming them region champs.
The win over Jordan capped off a perfect, undefeated run through region play.
It also marked the first region championship for Highland since 2009.
Winning the region is a great end to the regular season for the Rams, especially given how the preseason went. With a rough start, the Rams dropped all three preseason games to West Lake, Hunter, and Viewmont. Following their third preseason loss, senior and captain James Conde says the team held a “players only” meeting.
“I think everyone sort of felt a change then, and we started caring about each other,” Conde said. “We started caring about winning and working harder every day. Our saying has been ‘go 1 and 0 each week’, meaning don’t focus on anything else. Let’s just win this week.”
Once the region games began, something sparked in the Rams, and losing was no longer an option. The first breakthrough came at Cottonwood, where Highland absolutely dominated the Colts with a score of 55-0. To keep up this streak, the Rams came out victorious against their rivals of 11-years, East.
This pattern of success continued for both games against Murray and Juan Diego, and the game the Rams were playing just got better and better.
“From transfers to new kids playing, I think our team has created this sense of community and brotherhood which has made us play for each other rather than ourselves,” Highland running back Manase Wolfgramm said. “I think the fact that we are actually one unit makes us different than the other teams I’ve played on before.”
As the season went on, everything pointed towards the big showdown between Highland and their rival Skyline, who was also undefeated in conference play. The two undefeated teams clashed on Oct. 10, where the Rams got exactly what they needed. With Highland putting on a dominant defense performance, the team held off the Eagles. At the end of the game, the Rams ran off the field to the cheers of their fans, and a 24-7 victory.
Now, thanks to their beautiful season performances, all that’s left is for the Rams to head into playoffs with that same mentality.
“The playoffs are big,” Conde said. “I’ve never had the chance to play in a playoff game in my four years of Highland football.”
