By Jack Ankony, executive sports editor
As One. That has been the motto of the 2016 Prospect Football team.
Senior offensive lineman Vince Shields says that this motto is carried out by everyone playing together as a team, caring about the teammate next to you and focusing on you doing your job instead of worrying about what the other team is doing.
Head coach Mike Sebestyen believes the team has worked hard this summer to grow and understand the game while working together. Sebestyen highlights trusting each other and focusing on details as two major things the team has worked on over the summer.
Senior quarterback Andrew Shafis says that this summer has helped the team bond and come closer together, but that they are now ready to play.
“We are at the point where everyone is like, ‘OK, we are tired of hitting each other at this point, let’s play someone else,’” Sebestyen said. “So we’re really looking forward to Friday night.”
On Aug. 26 the Knights finally take the field against Hinsdale South after months of preparation. Last season Hinsdale South made it to the semifinals, but no starters return this year, making their team somewhat of a mystery.
“The game is pretty unpredictable at this point,” Shafis said. “So we are going to try to start fast, [and] then see how things go from there.
Senior Drew Compton believes that in order to win, defensively, it will be important to read Hinsdale South’s tendencies.
“We don’t have to be better, we don’t have to be more talented, we just have to learn the game well enough that we can play well enough and do our job,” Compton said.
On offense, the Knights have been known to have a dominant running attack the past few seasons, and Shields believes this year will be very similar. Shields thinks it will be key to grind out possessions and outlast the opponent to accomplish what they are trying to do.
The Knights have set goals such as going back to the playoffs for the first time in four years and to challenge for the MSL East title. However, according to Sebestyen, in order to achieve these goals, they will have to take it one game at a time, and not look ahead to other games.
“The most important team on your schedule is the team in front of you each week,” Sebestyen said.
All of the hard work the Knights have put in this summer will be put to the test this Friday night.
“I think they are a very confident group [and] that they have done the work to be ready to play game one,” Sebestyen said. “We are looking forward to finally getting the chance to play for our school [and] to play for our community on Friday night at [George] Gattas Memorial.”