After coming off a devastating loss in the championship game last season, KO varsity football came back better than ever, and with one goal: winning it all, and they have been doing just that.
After graduating, all of their senior captains last spring, everyone on the team had big shoes to fill. This year, the team started off with a 4-0 winning streak, beating Hamden Hall, Middlesex, Worcester Academy, and the Hill School by a combined average of 31 points a game.
Blowing out these teams at the beginning of their season gave the team lots of momentum and energy, which they have been able to carry on. However, their first loss of the season was against Saint Paul’s School after a grueling three-hour-long bus ride; KO fought hard but lost 34-7.
After losing nine captains, eight of them went to play college football at a variety of levels, players needed to step up into leadership included senior captains Justin Ocasio, Noah Patrei, and Junior captains Xavier Hernandez-Newton and Ernesto Ballesteros. This new group of captains strove to continue the same culture their former captains left. “it has been different seeing how everyone plays into their roles,” Ballesteros said, “being younger and not really playing and then coming into the team now and having a bigger role, so the culture has definitely changed and been different, but we have continued to try to meet the standard that the seniors set last year.”
This football team has something that others may not: siblings. Having a big graduating class of older brothers, including Cam Thomas ’26, DJ Biggins ’26, and Lex Green ’26, has left the team in the hands of their little brothers, for example, junior linebacker and wide receiver Landon Thomas and junior linebacker and running back Isley Biggins. “ It is a brotherhood and a great culture,” Biggins said. “We have a lot of chemistry, and we love competing at practice. Every day, guys are trying to get each other better; everyone takes it seriously and does what it takes to complete the end goal of making it to the bowl game again this year.”
Although the football team didn’t complete their goal of an undefeated season, they are looking forward to the rest of the season. By building on their strengths and fixing their weaknesses, they are determined that they can make it back to the bowl game this year. Best of luck to the KO varsity football team for the rest of their season!
