The varsity football team has not lost their Kickoff Classic preseason game in the past two years, and even though the team has some inexperienced players, that did not change last night.

On Friday, Aug. 19, the team defeated Freedom 28-13. This was the team’s second straight time beating Freedom, as they won last season 42-13. Contributing to the win were quarterback Ethan Brewer and running backs Jordan Gilbert, Tavis Thompson and Tony Felix, each with a touchdown of their own.

“We needed this game to get experience so we could find out if we’ve got the personnel in the right place or not,” head coach Phil Ziglar said, who is entering his fourth season with the team. “The kids just had to let loose, relax and play ball, and they did just that.”

Although the team proved their effectiveness of running the ball in the game, their passing game was not as strong, as this was Brewer’s first game ever playing quarterback.

“It felt good to win, but there’s a lot more for me to learn as quarterback,” Brewer said. “I’m just going to keep adjusting to be ready for the season.”

With the team’s regular season opener at home against Winter Springs not until Friday, Sept. 2, Thompson still feels there is some room for improvement.

“There [are] some minor things we’ve got to work on to be ready for the [regular season],” Thompson said. “I don’t really know about the team as a whole, but for me personally, I have to work on my run blocking.”

This season, the team’s schedule will be exactly the same as last season, just home and away will be switched, which gives Ziglar the confidence that the team could repeat as district champions and go even further.

“The schedule works out for us well,” Ziglar said. “We won’t be as fast as we were last year, but we’ll be stronger than last year, so we’ll just have to adapt to our situations and get the team to play together as one unit.”