The air was crisp, and you could feel the tension in the atmosphere as the St. Francis Varsity Saints faced the Cambridge-Isanti Blue Jackets on their turf, at their homecoming. The battle was fought with spirit and ferocity; and the Saints won. ironically, Cambridge wasn’t the only homecoming game they’d have to play before their own homecoming game, on Friday, October 4.
There are, in fact, four separate homecoming games scheduled this season. Coach Mike Philips said the team has been working vigorously, both in practice and on the field. Also, he said this year he is excited for the new conference, because it’s tougher and there are different teams to face.
Senior Football Captains, Dylan Schroeder and Max Gust, talked about how the season was going from the players stand point, and the struggle with this being their last year.
“The team is performing very well together and the season is looking bright.” said Gust, “even though we’ve faced a lot of adversity we’ve come so far.”
The team has had some major injuries taking players out of the season, including Zach Baumgarn with a severe knee injury needing surgery, David Jorgensen with a knee injury, and Jake Eckman who strained his shoulder.
“As a Senior I’m excited to be done with the year,” said Schroeder, “but at the same time I’ve been playing sports so long I’ll miss it.”
Even though the Saints didn’t pull off the win for their own homecoming, they continue to look ahead to the next game.
“We train every week,” said Phillips, “and play each game like it’s the playoffs.”