This article isn’t about wins or losses. This is a story about the accomplishments that the Panther football team has made this season. 

The Stockbridge football team normally has a tough start to the season but not this year. The team is stoked to have such a great start. The turnout at the games seems to have doubled compared to past years. Between COVID-19 and a not-so-lucky track record, not many students found themselves at the field on Friday nights. This year is different though. The winning streak has revived fans and brought in more of an audience and many believe that has been the gold at the end of the rainbow for the Panthers.

“I am hopeful that our fans can maintain a positive disposition and understand that it can have an impact on whether or not we are accepted into a new league next season,” assistant coach Benjamin Kruse said. 

Worried about not having a conference to play in next year, this season is crucial to being accepted to another conference since Leslie, Maple Valley, Olivet and Lakewood left the GLAC conference.

Stockbridge has tried multiple times to join other conferences but they have always been denied. There has been speculation that the fans are a huge reason why they keep getting rejected. 

Although there is a lot of pressure on the Panther Football program, they haven’t seemed to show it. The team has kicked off the season with a 4-3 record. The Panthers have not seen a record like this since 2016.

“This group of kids have been playing together since third or fourth grade,” junior Drew Robinson said. “We have more chemistry and bond together way more than past years so I think that’s what has given us the great start.”

Even when the Panthers were facing their toughest rivals, they studied film so that they were ready for the challenge. “The only team I think we will struggle with is Lakewood,” junior Gary Killinger said. “They run a triple option which is a hard play to defend because you don’t know who the ball is going to.”

 Although they will continue to face tough teams, the Panthers are confident that they will come out of the game with a win. For the annual Homecoming game, the Panthers faced the Perry Ramblers which is another tough team on the schedule. Whether the team ends with a winning record, or ends up at the bottom of the conference, the team bond is unstoppable. The Panthers are reaching stepping stones that haven’t been touched in seven years, and that’s an accomplishment on its own.