The clock has started for this year’s 2024-2025 football season. With exactly 10 games, Tiger Nation is ready to watch this season unfold. The first game is behind us with a loss to Lockport, and our second game followed with another loss to York, making tensions high.
“I believe we will be more explosive and entertaining this season; I think we will be a playoff team, and we will give you guys a more exciting year than we did last year,” senior quarterback Lukas Alvarez said. “We are bringing a lot to the table this season and expectations are extremely high.”
Stepping on the field this season is 32 seniors, a team that has not only spent countless hours together but has created a bond that goes deeper than just a team.
“Coming into a new school in April not knowing what to expect is supposed to be very difficult, but with these teammates, it wasn’t at all,” senior running back Malik Jassim said. “These guys are more than just teammates, they’re like family to me; they welcomed me like I’ve been there with them since the start.”
With last season being a tough one ever since the class of 2023 went undefeated, tensions have been high in hopes for another comeback. While trying not to get ahead of oneself and set unrealistic goals, winning feels rather promising this year.
“There is always a chance of being undefeated, and I do believe that our team is capable of being undefeated. Now no one else will believe in us due to our hard schedule, but we are more than ready,” senior Treycen Bownes said.
With these past two losses behind the team, there is a worry that may discourage our team and the student body.
“The loss was a difficult one but we’ve been working hard all week, definitely bringing the intensity and energy to these past practices,” senior linebacker Andrew Elkareh said. “We can’t wait for this Friday to show how hard we’ve been working.”
Many of the players are eager for this season and in high hopes for all that there is to offer. While each player believes in making playoffs and being the next team in North history to be undefeated the opinion that matters most is the coaches belief in them.
“If we have enough wins this season, then yes, playoffs [are] a possibility,” head coach Anthony Imbordino said.
Building up this team for the past 4 years has been a process consisting of many returning players, as well as the new addition of recruiting new players for this season.
“We are so unbelievably lucky to have everyone on the team,” Alvarez said. “Our two new senior recruitments are outstanding players and will make a great impact on winning and playing hard.”
As the season is finally underway, the student body is eager to watch this team take the field each game. Expecting the stands to be packed and filled with energy only benefits our team, especially as undergoing these losses can make it difficult to stay positive as a student body.
“Losses aren’t losses, they are lessons. The student body is coming back to this upcoming game with 110 percent more energy,” senior Crimson crazies social media manager Kelsie Barma said. “We’re bringing all the Tiger spirit and hype to support our football team no matter what.”
There are still 8 regular season games, and the spirits are high in hopes of turning this bad start into movement and even more off-field work, as the team can now focus on the weaknesses and build something stronger and unstoppable.
“We had a slow start, but honestly, what we have been putting out on [the] field is some of our best, and I do believe we have so much more to offer,” Alvarez said. “There is so much more that this season holds.”
