The Varsity Football season is finally here at Leesville Road High School. The 2024 team is led by Coach Kolstad, with numerous specialized Assistant Coaches behind him.
The Varsity team has been putting in the work throughout the offseason. Whether it be morning practices starting as early as six AM or attending a four-day football training camp at Wingate University — the team has stayed hard at work. The coaches have already introduced new incentives for the season ahead. For example, if the players maintain at least a 90% attendance rate at practices, then they have their last names displayed on the back of their jerseys. This year’s players have to earn decals for their helmets as well.
However, many students are just as excited to attend the games as they are watching them. Game themes are always a big hit; the themes are released each year before the start of the season. Whiteout was the first theme of the season with camo out the following week at Panther Creek on August 30.
Clara Hook, freshman, said, “My first high school football game was honestly really fun. I know a few of my friends had gone to some in middle school previously and so going into it I didn’t really know what to expect…The student section leaders did a great job at making sure that students were where they needed to be.”
Before the beginning of the regular season, Leesville competed in two scrimmages. They won both, first against Holly Springs and then to the newly merged Martin County High School.
The Varsity team played their first official non-conference game on August 23 against Wakefield High School. The game started shaky for Leesville, with Wakefield scoring two safeties making for an unusual score of 4-0. Wakefield proceeded to then score a passing touchdown and the extra point, to extend their lead to 11. This all happened in the first quarter.
Leesville then gained momentum and scored 21 unanswered points to lead into halftime –making the score Leesville 21 to Wakefield 11. For the remainder of the game, Leesville did not trail and continued to push forward. Leesville went on to score 21 points in the third quarter with an additional 7 in the fourth quarter, ending the game with a score of Leesville 49-20 Wakefield Leesville’s 49-20 victory over Wakefield.
Within the offseason, many of Leesville’s star players graduated, creating the question of how the team would be able to recover. So far, the team has handled the transition well, new faces have taken the opportunity to step up and find their role out on the field.
“We have worked hard in the weight room this year and I think the coaches have made us both mentally and physically prepared for this season. I think that they believe in us as a team. This year the team is a lot tighter knit than before and the coaches are to credit for that along with the players,” Logan Kiser texted via iMessage, Defensive Lineman.
Leesville faces a tough schedule ahead of them. Cap-6 conference games start on October 4 at home versus Sanderson — the annual Homecoming game.
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