Football wins sectional title

On Nov, 9, the Cougars football team won the sectional championship against Plymouth High School. This is the first time since 2017 that the team won a sectional championship title. 

     “New Prairie football won a sectional championship 2 years ago in 2017,” Hunter Whitenack, sophomore varsity offensive linemen said. 

     The team worked immensely hard at making sure they were ready to defeat Plymouth. 

     “We worked hard at practice all week and made a scout team to help varsity hopefully get a feeling of what it was like to play Plymouth,” Michael Rodriguez, sophomore defensive back stated. 

     Not only did the team and coaches study the team and prepare in practice, but they also made sure they had the right mindset going into the game. 

     “Going into the game we all knew that the season was on the line and so was the sectional title,” Whitenack said. 

Cougars football players on the field. Photo by Makayla Karnes.

     The Cougars knew they could beat Plymouth if they all worked together at the common goal of winning the sectional  championship title. 

     “When we are all clicking as one it is hard to stop us,” Whitenack said. 

     Plymouth did not make it easy for the Cougars to win the sectional championship title. 

     “They were a very good team, and out of all three teams we faced, they were the most confident,” Rodriguez stated. 

     After the team won the title, they were overjoyed that they had won the sectional championship title. 

     “It felt amazing to win. It was a hard fought game where it went down to the wire. To me it was the best feeling in the world to win,” Whitenack said. 

     The game was very intense and both teams fought till the end. In quarter three the Cougars were only winning by 1 point. The final score was 35-27 with the Cougars winning the championship title. 

     “I knew that we could win, but I also knew it would be a blow out. So everyone needed to work together,” Rodriguez said. 

Cougars playing football. Photo by Carli Tharp.

     Before the regionals game, the team was preparing for their game against Hobart Highschool, which was at Hobart Highschool. 

     “We are all very excited to play under the lights and get one step closer to our goal of winning state,” Whitenack said. 

     Plymouth gave New Prairie a challenge for the sectional title and Hobart did the same for the regional title. 

     “Hobart is a run first team, where Plymouth was pass, pass and pass. We can not underestimate this team, they are very well coached,” Whitenack said. 

     For the Cougars, it also could’ve been difficult playing for a regional title at an away game. 

     “For regionals we are playing on turf, so we are gonna have to adapt to that,” Whitenack said. 

     The team was very excited to hopefully win the regional state title and to meet the common goal of making it to state. 

     “My hopes and goals for the rest of the year is to become state champions,” Whitenack said. 

     Sadly the Cougars did not come out on top for the regional title. They lost to Hobart 36-7.