On Friday, Sep. 22, The Taft Varsity Football team celebrated their senior players.

Every year Taft High School has a game that is dedicated to their seniors. This year’s game they went against Chicago Bulls College Prep.  Senior Night is a game in which only the teams with senior players participate.

“Bulls College Prep is a decent team and I believe that with the team’s confidence we can come out with another win,” said Head Football Coach Zachary Elder. Which is exactly what our Taft seniors did; they beat Bulls College Prep by 20 points. The final score for the game was 40-20.

Every Senior Night each player gets a poster made and picks an outro song. The players are allowed to walk out with their parents while the student section cheers them on. Senior night gives the players an opportunity to showcase their skills to the scouts. This game also allows parents to see their child’s improvement from freshman to senior year.

Senior Night is celebrated all throughout the sports department. It is this special night dedicated to senior boys and girls to honor and celebrate their commitment and hard work throughout all four years of their high school years.

When asked how players felt about having this night special for them, senior Isiah Negron said, “I am honored to have this game dedicated to us seniors; it shows our hard work and improvement. It is going to be a fun night.”

Although the game is a celebration of all the senior players it is also a goodbye to them. As the seniors walk out while the underclassmen are on the side watching them walk out, it’s a symbol for how the seniors are leaving and the other players are saying goodbye.

When Negron was asked how he felt about his final year on the team, he said, “I feel sad but I know all good things have to come to an end so I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the time I have.”

When Elder was asked how he felt about seeing his senior players go their own way after being with them all four years, he said, “Every year when the time comes to say bye to the senior players  it is always a hard and sad thing to do.  I have seen these players go from boys to the young men they have become today. I have seen much growth from them on and off the field,” said Elder.

When asked Elder how he thinks next year’s season will go due to the loss of our senior players, he said, “We have some underclassmen as starters for our varsity team who play great. I believe that if they keep the same mind set and confidence they have we will be just fine next year.”