It’s that time of the year again. Fall sports are starting, and everyone is excited to finally be able to watch and participate in them. This is especially true with Wilton football. The Wilton football team has been working hard to meet their goals this season.  

There are 11 seniors participating on the football team this year. Those seniors are Caleb and Colby Sawvell, Adam Crumly, John Lily, Mason Nolte, Kael Brisker, Cody McDonald, Gage Rosenkeild, Keegan Stoelk, Tucker Treimer, and Silas Harris. They are seen as leaders within the football team, and they are the top dogs as they are the oldest. Coaches and players alike are excited to see how this season goes.  

As the season starts to progress, many of the players and coaches have goals for their team. Head coach, Ryan Hetzler said, “My goals for the football team are to be highly competitive with every team we play and to give ourselves a chance to win every game.” When this team played during their scrimmage, people could feel the energy and excitement within the players. They were having a great time as they had been inside for a very long time with quarantining in the spring and summer. Players are also feeling confident as to how the season will progress. Senior Caleb Sawvell said, “I feel really confident about this year’s season, and I can’t wait to play for the rest of the season. I feel that we are really strong on both sides of the ball and have control of our team.”

As the season starts, many coaches think about how they can grow as a team. “I think we will see a lot of growth from week 1 to week 7. I think this team has great potential if we continue to build from where we started.” Coach Ryan Hetzler said. As for quarterbacks, they have to rely on the offense to help the team out and create an opening.

This is very important for the quarterback to have trust in their offense and on their defense: “I feel we have a great advantage this year as opposed to last year’s team and we had a couple of people come back and a couple of injuries happen during practice, so hopefully they will be back soon.” Caleb Sawvell shared.

At the end of the season, there is always a sad goodbye for the seniors as it is their last ride onto the home football field in high school. However, many seniors are approaching the season with a positive mindset despite it being their last year playing high school football. They just want to play football and have fun, “I feel like it went by fast, and I’m kind of sad that it’s my last year playing even though I missed all of last year. So if it’s my last season I have to make it my best season.” said Caleb Sawvell.

Coach Hetzler has high hopes for the seniors and a piece of advice moving throughout the year and their lives. He said, “One piece of advice I give to all my seniors is to never take anything for granted, especially this year where we are not guaranteed a full season and things can be taken away immediately without notice.”As the season begins, the team has many goals that they want to achieve ahead of them. They are trying to enjoy every moment on the field and fully appreciate their opportunity to have a successful season.

The team is currently 1-2. They won their first game against Highland 36-30 on 8/28, lost to Lisbon 9/5 with 26-20, and lost to Durant 35-28 on 9/11. Tonight they set their sights towards West Branch at home.