DANVILLE — For the last time, nine Danville seniors took part in playing at Ned Whitesell Field.
While the Vikings ended up losing 54-13 to Peoria Notre Dame, the seniors reflected after the rituals of bringing it in for a cheer and doing jumping jacks on the field after the game and how they will leave things for players in the future.
“It’s tough knowing that I am not going to be able to do that anymore, but the foundation I built with will be carried on with D’Mario (Jackson),” Senior Ajani Davis, who leads the cheer and jumping jacks, said. “He is going to make sure they are going to have energy, have the vibe right and make sure that everyone is flying around and doing what they need to do.”
“Jumping jacks are best part especially after a win,” Danville senior quarterback Aidan Henderson said. “We come together and feel the energy from all of us. We are giving it our all with the jumping jacks and on the last one, it felt like family.”
The seniors were part of a bigger group as freshmen and Danville coach Marcus Forrest said that he is thankful for the group that stayed.
“I appreciated out of a group of 25, those were nine that stuck it all out and played hard. Irrelevant of any outcome, it wasn’t for a lack of trying or playing hard,” Forrest said. “We had some that didn’t have varsity experience and they came out and gave everything they could. I am proud of them and how they worked helped keep the team together to a point where every week was energetic.
“When we took lumps on Friday, they were energetic in practice on Saturday, They came in on Monday when we ripped their tail witching film and they were ready to go on Tuesday. There will be some ready to go to the military, going to college or the work force, but all of them did what they could to lay a great foundation and that is what I am happy about.”
The game was back and forth for the first quarter and a half. After the Irish scored first, the Vikings came back on a 15-yard pass from Henderson to Jackson to get within 8-6.
With PND up 16-6 in the second, Henderson hit Jackson with a 52-yard pass to cut things down to 16-13.
Henderson also used some savvy early on by causing a few encroachment penalties that kept those drives going.
“It goes back to working all the week during practice and if we were disciplined, we throw them offsides,” Henderson said. “Everyone thinks Danville goes off on the first count, but we threw them off a couple of times with the count and worked.”
But after that, the Irish continued to build up the points.
“They are a team that are built to run the ball and they want to put pressure on you and want you to turn the ball over, “ Forrest said. “One of the things you do is when you make a mistake, you play into their hands. We had a turnover and mental mistakes that turned a first and 5 to a first and 15. We have to take this until next season. They will be a year wiser and more confident and they will be better prepared.”
With Jackson coming back as the lone captain from this season, Forrest believes that he can cause that change for next season.
“This was one of the first years I let them choose three captains and they chose Aidan, Ajani and D’Mario,” Forrest said. “The seniors led in many ways and D’Mario did as well. Now I am expecting him next year for him to be one of the leaders and two others to step up. He improved between this year and last year and he is still learning and growing in his leadership. What is never lacking is hard work and the effort he pushes himself. He expects other to come with him and I think he can the one to guide them and lead others to build on what has already happened this year.”
For the seniors, it was a sad end to a season where they hoped to do better, but have great hopes for the players who will be carrying on next season to reverse this season’s 2-7 record.
“It’s definitely heartbreaking to see the season end like this,” Henderson said. “We came into the season with such high hopes and we have been lifting weights and going over plays and hoping for a great season. Finishing with a loss and not the record we wanted is heartbreaking.”