A Book-Worm Goes to a Football Game

Yes, it’s true -- normally I would much prefer to be snuggled up holding a work of Thoreau or Hawthorne in the study, warm, peaceful, and serene in my mind rather than screaming myself hoarse in low-degree weather, desperately shaking like a wet dog, and willing my hand warmers to work. Yet that is exactly what I was doing this November at Prep’s championship football game against MRA.

by Edward Wilson Sentry columnist, Edward Explains Class of 2023

In true Southern fashion, it was a lively event featuring alumni, parents, fervent students, and of course a valiant football team! I think the biggest reason that draws so many people to football games, particularly students, is the friendship between cliques, but this game took that to a different level.

After a succession of non-stop victories, Prep’s current seniors were on a three-year drought from holding that coveted trophy. Everyone, especially the seniors, had suffered from a close loss to MRA earlier in the season and were more than ready to see the trophy in its rightful hands. Therefore, bonds spread far beyond tight knit pocketed groups and engulfed the Prep community eager to cheer on our team to victory. We did just that.

Though the first quarter was tense with MRA’s early first and second scoring plays, everything afterward went like a Jackson Prep Patriot would wish. What followed I could only describe as an onslaught of determination and fierce tactics that saw the Prep team take charge of the ball and prevent MRA from scoring again while getting three touchdowns of their own. Much like the famous Athena Parthenos, we held victory at the end of that freezing night. The storming of the field and community celebration will have a lasting impact. As I look towards the end of this road and the beginning of another when I walk across that stage in May, I hope for a life filled with moments like this: a collective hope and pride spurring me and others towards a common goal. In the end, that’s what society is all about, these moments when “the self” becomes “the us,” and we get to create extraordinary stories to remember far beyond upper school.

“It has been a challenging experience to have three coaches in three years of high school football. Coach Goodwin came in and got the team to buy into a new system. He made us believe that we could do anything. He was extremely approachable and wanted us to become better men not just football players. I am really glad Coach Goodwin came to Prep.”

–Will Upton, Class of 2023