The Unified football team closed their season on Oct. 5 with a tough loss against Mooresville.

“Our season went well, especially since it was a lot of people’s first year on the team and playing,” junior Briana Miller said.

In August, athletes and partners attended a call-out meeting.

“I joined Unified because I wasn’t playing a fall sport and it seemed like a fun thing to do. It helped me build a lot of relationships, and it’s just a really fun time. We cheer everybody on, win or lose,” junior Eliana Anderson said. 

The team faced many tough opponents this season, including Indian Creek. Here, the team managed to pull out a victory. The team won multiple games while having a good time playing with their teammates. 

“Our biggest accomplishment was beating Indian Creek. We beat them by 20 points, and it was a really exciting and fun game,” Miller said. 

On Oct. 2, the team took on Franklin High School. The score was 52-47, with the Woodmen taking home the win. 

“The game was really back and forth the whole time. We scored the most amount of points we have ever scored before. We all played well, and we all scored. We worked together, and our plays worked out,” junior Gillian Semmler said.

This year, the team faced a challenge in numbers, as there were not many athletes who came out to play.

“Our season went well, even though we don’t have a lot of athletes this year. We loved having the athletes that were here, and everyone worked really hard,” Coach Rick Guipe said. 

As the season went on, the partners and the athletes created strong bonds with each other and continued to push each other at practice and in games. The athletes and partners worked together.

“My favorite part of coaching is seeing the kids interact with each other. It’s really nice to see the partners and the athletes working together and how much they like being around each other,” Mr. Guipe said. 

The supportive environment with the athletes, partners, and coaches created a space for many memories to be made throughout the season during their games and practices. Unified gives opportunities that might not be available to the Unified athletes.

“My favorite part of the season was having fun. My favorite memory was when we ran away from the bees together at our game,” senior Khup Thang said.

Unified also allows for one-on-one relationships as well. The partners and athletes get to know each other through the season and build friendships.

“My favorite part of the season was getting to know everybody and getting to have fun with the team. My favorite memories are with Brendan Cunningham because he is so funny,” junior Zaire Gillis said.

The Unified members are not only teammates. They consider themselves to be friends off the field as well. 

“The relationships that we have made with the athletes this year are some of the best we have had. They are all so sweet and so caring. We are all friends. There is no drama on the team because we are all very close and we want to be there and play. If I see them in the hallway, I’ll wave to my friends,” Semmler said.