Seconds remain in the game against Amarillo. The football team is down, but not by much. The coaches make a decision to place junior Willie Cherry in as quarterback. He keeps the ball and runs with it, taking it into the end zone in the last second and making the final touchdown of the game.

The varsity football team traveled to Amarillo on Sept. 4 to play the Amarillo High Sandies. The team triumphed with a final score of 27-24.

“It was a great win,” senior and football team captain T.J. Vasher said. “I was very happy for us from a team standpoint. We didn’t need to take another loss and have our hopes down, so winning like we did was a good deal.”

The first two games of the season were decided in the last seconds of the game, resulting in a loss against the Abilene Cooper Cougars and a win against the Amarillo High Sandies. The third game ended in a loss to 6A powerhouse Denton Guyer. The Raiders kept the game close in that one until the last quarter.

Despite this, Vasher said that the loss actually helped the team.

“It was a tough loss on the team as a whole, but it also made us come closer and realize the bigger goal for the season,” Vasher said.

Head Coach Marc Bindel said he doesn’t worry much when it comes down to the last seconds.

“We put faith in our kids and believe they will get the job done late in a game,” Bindel said. “We always feel like we can win every game even if we fall behind. A lot of games come down to one play here or there.”

While most people would tense up under the pressure of those last seconds where the game is on the line, Bindel said the team prepares for moments like that in practice.

“We put them in similar situations in practice so they feel comfortable during the games,” he said.

Bindel also said that the intensity helps the team.

“We grow as a team through the adversity.”

Bindel and Vasher both say that the close scoring games bring the team closer as a whole.

“We would rather blow it out, but when the score is closer it makes you better as a player and as a team,” Cherry said. “The close games matter more.”