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As our 2023 football season is coming to a close, we would like to acknowledge all of our seniors. Coming to a total of 7, our seniors are Tim DeSanto, Zander Stephens, Carter Chaney, Dalton Queener, Tanner Berrey, Isaac Crome, and Jesse Bowman.
The final game of the season was held on October 20th, but it also doubled as senior night. Going up against East Prairie, whose season record held 3-5, the team believed they could win that night, and what a win it was! At halftime, the Blackcats had over 30 more points than they had scored in total during any other game. To end the game, they had an astonishing 57-34, making it the best game they have played all season, plus only a couple of points off from breaking the school record for most points in a single game!
After a breathtaking win, we would like to focus on our seniors after all of their hard work this season. I interviewed two players, Tim DeSanto and Tanner Berrey. I asked them a series of questions like their favorite game, best moments, and plans after high school.
Starting with Tim, I learned that he has been playing since 6th grade, making his time in football a strong 7 years! Out of all the years, Tim has played, he could not decide which season was his favorite, coming to a tie between the 2022 season and this year. The reason these seasons stood out from the rest was due to his teammates, making the seasons so enjoyable. His favorite game this season was Senior Night against East Prairie due to how well they performed, coming out to the best game of the season.
Tim said his biggest challenge was the early mornings during the summer, having to get up before the sun and be at the field by 6:30. The biggest challenge during a game was any sort of sportsmanship against Ste. Genevieve. That opposing team had very poor sportsmanship, and it was hard to not lose your cool. When I asked Tim what he was going to miss the most, he said it was going to be all his friends. They have grown close this year and he will miss them over everything. Tim does not plan to play college football; instead, he will be attending a trade school or enlisting in the military.
Moving onto Tanner Berrey, he played town league while he was in 6th grade, but has been playing school football for the last 6 years. His favorite season was this year, for a multitude of reasons. To start, the team this year was more of a family than ever before, as a result of Coach Williams introducing new traditions that drew the team closer. Another reason was that he improved quite well over the summer, making this his best performance year. like Tim, Tanner’s favorite game was Senior Night but for a different reason. Tanner felt as though this was finally the game they played together as a team, and they almost broke a school record. Every game was a challenging one, and alongside Tim, Tanner also thinks Ste. Gen was the hardest of them all, due to their poor sportsmanship.
Tanner had some personal challenges this year that finally turned out in his favor. During the summer the team participated in 7 v 7, and while Tanner was learning his positions, he never had time to practice them fully. This led to him studying his work on Hudl, and even in the end when he did not fully know everything, it worked out and he was able to get yards in. What he will miss most about the team is the people. Even when they are together all the time and can even be “butt heads” at times, they have a sense of brotherhood that developed over time while fighting side by side. Tanner says that if he gets the chance to play college football, he will, but he plans on getting his business license and becoming a union electrician after high school.
We are proud of all the work that these seniors have put in this season, and the team would not be where they are without them. It is going to be hard to let go of these boys once they graduate, but the team will cherish every lasting second and memory they have with them.
