The John Adams Eagles varsity football team celebrated Senior Night on Sept. 29, 2023, prior to their contest against the Elkhart High School Lions. With this being the fourth all-time meeting between the Eagles and Lions, the seniors have played each other all four years of high school. The following is a recap of those four years according to the seniors themselves.

  Freshman year, 2020, a year to remember. COVID, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Trump vs. Biden election, but the real question did how did it go on the field? Well, first of all, when asked about playing through COVID, Micah Jacobs (free safety c/o 24) said, “It was hard, from battling people getting sick and out with the virus to the thought of our season being shut down.” As for the season itself, both Jacobs and Justin McDonald (tackle c/o 24) spoke about what it was like coming in as freshman, trying to fit in and build chemistry with the guys. Four years later, as seniors, Micah and Justin described their career at John Adams as productive and amazing. After starting the season with a win, defeating Washington 34-0, they went on to defeat Woodlan (50-0), Riley (32-6), and Jimtown (28-16). The Eagles finished the 2020-21 season with a 4-6 record.

Sophomore year, another good season. The Eagles had a 5-6 record with wins against Riley AND St. Joe, made it two rounds in the playoffs, had solid individual stats amongst their starters; all in all, 2021-22 was a good year. Despite being injured for a majority of the season, during a discussion with Marrion Cathey (linebacker ℅ 24) about his experience as a sophomore football player at Adams, he recounts how by sophomore year, the players who were coming into year two of football at John Adams were finally starting to get their footing with the team and figure things out. In the same conversation, Cathey talked about Sept. 10, 2021, National TV Dinner Day, also known as the day Adams beat St. Joe for the first time in three years. In fact, now two years later, the highlight of many seniors’ high school career was rushing the field after the big win! Cathey commented about the win and field rush: “It was one of the best feelings ever! I didn’t know much about the rivalry but when we stormed that field, I was like ‘yeah this gon’ be us.’ It didn’t end up happening but it put something in me to play better my next two years.” Two years later, as a senior, after all the 2020 craziness, injuries, sizable victories as a team, and new staff, Marrion Cathey describes the past four years as an Eagle as crazy.

Year three, the year of new. NEW year, NEW staff, NEW mindset. Other than the fact that the Eagles got a brand new coaching staff a month before the season started, the team had a lot to prove this season. They had to uphold a positive record with a whole new set of coaches. After speaking with Amari Wesson (wide receiver ℅ 24) about the difference in circumstances between sophomore and junior season, specifically with the team, he explained that after the class of 2022 graduation, the team had a large loss of players going into the 22-23 season. The new staff had an almost entirely new, young team to start their John Adam’s careers off with. Regarding the coaching change, Wesson talked about how the change wasn’t too difficult for him but definitely an adjustment for the team as a whole. Wesson also mentioned that after the team started to get acclimated to the new system, and learned what the coaching staff expected, they were all in. Barring all challenges and changes that came his way, the following year, 2023, as a senior, Amari Wesson describes his career as an Eagle as fantastic.

Now it’s time for the one everyone’s been waiting for, the end. Twelfth grade, the final year, the best year, senior year, whatever it’s called, it’s here! According to Jayden Laurence (defensive tackle c/o 24) the mindset going into this season is development. “Our team had the mindset of improving in every part of the game. Coach Frank preached it all summer and still does even in week seven.” Following all the things that have gone on in the last few years, the only thing the boys are focused on is getting better. Game one of senior season the Eagles played Culver Military Academy (CMA). Vibes were high, the crowd was hype, everyone was ready for kickoff! Despite all the charged energy around this game, Adams fell to CMA 21-14. Seven weeks following the Eagle’s loss to Culver, the seniors were gearing up for their last home game as high school football players, otherwise known as Senior Night. 

In the days leading up to said game, the seniors were challenged to define their high school football career in one word. For example, Marc Gatorano (wide receiver ℅ 24) used the word “patience” to sum up his career as an Eagle. Evan Adams (offensive lineman ℅ 24), in his opinion, had a “satisfactory” career. In the words of Braylon Williams (Wide receiver ℅ 24), he “progressed” throughout his four years in the game. Leif Whalen (wide receiver ℅ 24) described his John Adams career as “short,” due to the fact that Whalen played for St. Joe for his first two years. This Friday the boys will travel to Jimtown to play their second-to-last regular season game. On Friday, Oct. 13th, the Eagles complete their season at Penn. Congratulations to the class of 2024 and good luck to you all in your future endeavors. Ari out.