After a rough start to the season and Homecoming Week coming to an end, the Woodmen look to bounce back and finish HOCO with a win over the Perry Meridian Falcons.
“The first half of the season did not go the way we wanted it to, and those kinds of things happen. We just have to persevere as a team, stay together, and come back better. But it has to start sooner than later. We have been focusing on a lot of the little things because that has been our biggest defeat so far. We have not lost to any other team; we have simply beat ourselves. We have allowed too many third down conversions, turnovers, and given up easy scoring drives. However, as we look at Perry, we are confident that we will see a new football team on the field,” senior Tyson Jones, linebacker, said.
Homecoming is more than just another game to players.
“Homecoming really means a lot to us as players, whether people believe it or not. Some might think that we view it as another game, and that would not be totally wrong, but that does not mean it does not mean a bit more to us than most games. Homecoming is not just the second home game of the year; it is a tradition that has been built into the history of high school football across the country. Everybody wants to win their Homecoming game. Obviously, no one wants to lose ever, but that feeling is a bit more prominent when you remember what Homecoming truly means,” senior Eli Miller, wide receiver, said.
Homecoming is a tradition like no other, and Jones said it means more to players than anyone else.
“Homecoming is arguably one of our most important games of the year. Everyone in Greenwood is coming to watch and support us on one of the biggest stages of the year. The only games that would compare to a Homecoming game are Sectional championships and our cannon game against Franklin. However, regular season games only, I think Homecoming takes the cake even over our game against Franklin,” Jones said.
Student fans subconsciously will hold the Woodmen to a higher standard tonight.
“I know, personally, I seem to subconsciously hold our football team to a higher standard than usual because who wants to see their team lose on a special night like Homecoming. I am not sure if I can speak for everyone when I say that, but Homecoming is typically our most packed game of the year in the student section. But I do think we get more people due to the fact of Homecoming being a big deal to everyone,” senior Sean Newett said
Homecoming holds players to a higher standard than any other game during the regular season.
“Homecoming is not just another game, even for us players. Homecoming can be very stressful because we are expected to win no matter what. Everyone in the community comes to Homecoming; former players, entire families, former teachers, coaches, anyone you can think of will be there. That holds us to a higher standard than usual, despite the already established standard everyone has for us,” Miller said.
As the Woodmen defense prepares for the Falcons, the main focus has been on the Falcon’s run/pass game.
“Perry has been very balance so far, having not shown a specific run heavy or pass heavy offense. Their quarterback has about 900 passing yards so far and their runningback averages about 60 rush yards per game with about 250 total yards at this point. We have a weaker pass defense, so we are expecting them to pass on us more. So our focus has been mainly on that with a few rushes here and there thrown into the mix,” junior James Hurley, linebacker, said.
The Woodmen’s offense has had a huge focus on cleaning things up in practice and playing smash mouth football with their deep runningback depth.
“We have great runningback depth on the team, with three really great runningbacks, including myself, Leland Morton, and Anthony Scaramazzo. So our main focus in practice has been to run it down their throat. That has become our typical game plan. We are very well conditioned, so we are hoping to make their defense tired, resulting in big plays and touchdowns,” senior Gunner Ruppert, runningback, said.
