The Liberty football team is focusing on one word this year: Grit.
“Grit is strength of character and perseverance through adversity. It means to get through anything, even if it’s tough,” senior player Chris Hasenheyer said.
The dictionary defines grit as, “clench (the teeth), especially in order to keep one’s resolve when faced with an unpleasant or painful duty.”
“We believe that grit is what this team needs to be great and have a successful season,” senior captain Nate Solly said. “We have come so far from last year with our skill and mentality as a team. Instead of just pushing through the games, we’re being smarter and using more tactics.”
The team uses this definition to get them through their games – especially the hard ones. On September 18, against Interlake High School, the team was down at half time by 21 points and made a great comeback and won with a score of 38-27.
“Interlake started the game out really strong and had a seven point lead. In the second half we knew we had to come out stronger and we were able to keep driving the ball. We had a goal in mind to come back and win the game and we did,” senior captain James Workman said.
Although their game against Interlake was a success, the teams game against Lake Washington was close but they lost in overtime.
“We dominated the first quarter with a 17-0 score and when we lead by that much, we get overconfident which was our biggest problem,” Workman said. “We felt really good and got complacent and didn’t feel the need to keep going which allowed them to come back and win the game.”
Despite the loss to Lake Washington, Workman and the rest of the team feel confident about the rest of their games.
“We have a lot of a good competition this year. These past two years, we’ve been able to pull out victories, but they’re always hard fought games,” Workman said. “We’re going to have to play all forty-eight minutes in order to come away with a victory.”
The team will take on powerhouse Bellevue this Friday and Juanita during the Homecoming game.