The crowd cheers, the band plays music and team members celebrate at another Friday night lights. For the first time since 2007, the Athens Drive football team had a three-win streak. Athens has won against their rival Cary High and other schools including Ashley and Green Hope High School.
“This is my first time playing for the football team at Athens and already making it one of the best starts of the season we have had in a while,” said Ja’Qua Reddick, varsity wide receiver, number 2.
While Athens recently lost to Apex Friendship, they started off the season strong. While the win streak may seem small to some, the team members and coaches say otherwise.
“We have had a good start to the season, we still have a lot to improve on but with at least six games left I’m excited to see how the end of the season goes,” said Brian Bolster, football assistant coach at Athens Drive.
Coach Tommy Smith and Bolster have been coaching the football team at Athens Drive for four years. With the recent graduation of the class of 2023, the current members of the team have only known Smith and Bolster and how they coach.
“When a new coach comes, it’s hard to get immediate success because there are people who were there before you got there, and teenagers tend to not listen to new authority because they believe they know more than the coach,” said Christopher Remaley, sports announcer and math teacher.
While some of the recent graduates knew the old coaches and had to learn the ways of Smith and Bolster, this is a fresh start for the team and so far its payed off.
“The team is starting to believe in Coach Smith and what he can do, he is a fantastic leader and it’s starting to work out for Athens. Because not only are they starting to believe in Coach Smith, they are starting to believe in themselves,” said Remaley.
The team believes in themselves and have the mindset that they can win and go with what they think, compared to the mentality that they cannot win and aren’t able to win.
“Beating Greenhope gave me a lot of confidence and it made me feel like, wow we really can do something this year,” said Terrell Johnson, safety backup for junior varsity, number 7.
