With the football season ending, it is time to look at those seniors as they enter the final chapter of their high school careers. For the 2024 season, 13 players made up the senior class. These athletes included:
Andy Pacinda – #1; Alex Amberger – #2; DJ Baca – #4; Leeandrea Catchings – #7; Ethan Marler – #11; Easton Wood – #13; Noah Bacon – #20; Dane Sensel – #26; Donnie Laut – #57; Carter Rickard – #58; Alec Bowman – #59; Ethan Bellew – #71; Ethan Francis – #73
Like every team, some athletes get more playing time than others. Some players were injured and unable to play most games. In the end, each player put his heart and soul into every minute of the game, and it was amazing to see the work they could do. We will look at the upcoming stats for offense, defense, special teams, kickoff, passing, and punting. Not every player has stats available for different reasons, but that does not mean they were not critical in the delivery of each play.
To start, we have Alexander Amberger. Alex is a wide receiver and a defensive back. He had 4 solo tackles and 3 assists.
The next player is DJ Baca. DJ played multiple positions, including running back, defensive back, and kicker. When playing rushing offense, DJ had 21 attempts, 101 yards, 1 touchdown down, and a longest pass play (LNG) of 32 yards. When receiving, he had 26 catches, 375 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an LNG of 71. When on defense, he had a total of 17 tackles, 7 of which were solo and 10 of them assisted. On special teams, he had 2 kick returns, totaling 22 yards, and an LNG of 20. Finally, for kickoffs, DJ completed a total of 36. He brought in a total of 1,646 yards. 16 were touch backs and 6 were out of bounds.
Wide receiver and defensive back Leeandrea Catchings is another key player during high-intensity games. When on rushing offense, Leeandrea only had 1 attempt, bringing in 6 yards. However, when on receiving offense, he had a total of 54 catches and 991 yards! With his number of catches, he was able to turn 8 of them into touchdowns and had an LNG of 68. This record has put him in the top three, not only for the season record but also for his career record. His receptions, receiving TDs, and receiving yards have placed him among FHS’s best players.
The only senior tight end and linebacker is Ethan Marler. When playing rushing offense, Ethan had 8 attempts with 46 yards and an LNG of 11. On receiving he had 4 catches, 55 yards, and an LNG of 25. On defense, he had 60 tackles—31 solo and 29 assisted—and 4 tackles for loss. Ethan had 1 pass breakup and helped with kick returns, having 2 with a total of 25 yards.
Next up is senior quarterback and defensive back Easton Wood. Easton had a total of 192 rushing attempts this season. He had 904 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns, and an LNG of 75 yards. He received 1 catch, bringing it to an LNG of 76 and a touchdown. For passing, he completed 127 passes, covering 1,958 yards, had 19 TDs, and 12 interceptions. On defense, Easton had a total of 80 tackles, 50 solo, 30 assists, and 2 tackles for loss. He had 2 forced fumbles, 3 pass breakups, and 2 interceptions. Easton made 38 punts this year, covering 1,252 yards with an LNG of 49. Finally, he had 1 kick return of 6 yards. Easton broke a total of 16 records this year, 10 being season records and 6 career.
Defensive lineman Noah Bacon did not have much playing time, yet he was able to complete one solo tackle, which also happened to be a tackle for loss.
Academic All-State member Dane Sensel is a running back and defensive lineman. For his time on offense, he made 7 rushing yard attempts, coming in at 17 yards. He received 3 catches, moved a total of 46 yards, and scored 1 touchdown. His total LNG for offense was 20 yards. On defense, he made a staggering 120 tackles, the second-highest of any player this season. He made 79 of those tackles by himself and assisted and/or was assisted on the other 41, and one was a tackle for loss. Dane had 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 4 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, and 1 touchdown.
Carter Rickard played offensive lineman and defensive lineman. He made 3 tackles this year, 2 solo and 1 assist. Due to a foot injury midway through the season, he was unable to continue to play but was by his team’s side every second of the way.
One hidden gem lurking on the field is Alec Bowman. An offensive lineman and defensive lineman, Alec came in with 19 tackles: 13 solo, 6 assisted, and 3 tackles for loss. Alec had 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 pass break-up. He was also honored with an MAFC White All-Conference selection on 1st team as an o-lineman and All-District 2nd team for o-line.
Even though some players do not have stats to show their hard work, there is no doubt that they were an essential part of the team. Andy Pacinda worked as a wide receiver and a defensive back. These next three players would almost always be seen on the field protecting the quarterback at all times. Donnie Laut, Ethan Bellew, and Ethan Francis all played as offensive and defensive linemen, doing their best and enabling the rest of the team to get the ball down the field.
Football is a sport that brings players together; it is a family. Even for those who do not play sports, it can be hard moving throughout the year with the knowledge that we might not see a lot of our classmates again. Being able to have teammates, a makeshift family that you are around most of the day, can be difficult, but it can also bring a form of peace, knowing that you have grown together as people and will always have memories of a family to look back on.