After ending the 2022 season in the second round of playoffs, the football team has new goals to be made this season to help them become this year’s State champion.
Last year, after having an overall record of 5-5, captain senior Mana Faagutu, as well as players junior Dawson Merritt and sophomore Taft Stueve discuss the improvements and motivations to have a better season.
Being on varsity for his second year, Merritt believes this year’s team has made major recoveries from last season.
“The leadership role between the players and the coaches has improved,” Merritt said. “The seniors have been a lot better compared to last year and the coaches have taken [the season] more seriously.”
With new seniors leading and more serious coaching, Faagutu said the team has locked in on their targets.
“Mentally, we always have our goal in our mind,” Faagutu said. “We’re always trying to evolve to the standard of what Blue Valley has set.”
With all these preparations before the season started, the BV football team was ranked 12th in Kansas by MetroSports. The team took this ranking into consideration and want to increase their ranking by the end of the season.
“We’ll definitely be in the top five by the time we win a couple games,” Merritt said. “We have high expectations for ourselves to get the job done and do the best we can do.”
With the new season, the motto “Protect The Standard” represents the current team. Faagutu explained what protecting the standard means to this years team.
“Last year, we didn’t really care about beating teams and winning wasn’t really a big deal for us — but also, we could see it in the way our coaches were talking to us and training us — you could tell not everything was 100% mentally, physically and emotionally,” Faagutu said. “The Tiger football team is back in check and telling us this is how we roll up. If you’re not worth it, you can leave the team. We’re going to uphold it, so it doesn’t really matter”
Although the team started with a loss, the BV football team continues to fight for the State title and hopes to continue to Protect the Standard.
“[It’s] more about what you’re doing on and off the field, not just how you play the game,” Stueve said. “What you’re doing in the community and what you’re doing for your school, not just football — it’s about everything you do in life.”
