October 10th, 2015 everything in my mind shifted, from that day nothing would stay the same. Two of the best public schools in the state. The largest and most ravenous public school rivalry in the state. Two of the best freshman teams in the state, both 5 - 0. The teams face off, for bragging rights, and the knowledge you pushed the other teams face in the dirt. Ramapo vs Wayne Hills. Both teams coming in confident and prepared to fight until one was carried off the field. This rivalry has been around since the beginning of time I think, we have knocked each other out of the playoffs, beat each other in the State Championships, and have definitely done a lot behind the scenes. A lot happened that night and it changed my life forever.

There was a fire present in everyone in the locker room, everyone felt the energy, the vibe. I don’t think I had ever felt more driven than I did that night when I was sitting in my locker with my equipment above me, all taped up cleats on, blasting music in my headphones as if I intended to blow out my eardrums. Sitting there in preparation for not only the game, but in preparation for the hunt, in preparation for the killing. Everyone knew how important this game was and what it meant to our team. The speeches that day weren’t necessary to hype us up since we were already ready. But those speeches resonated in every corner of the room and in each player's heart. No one was worried about beef with somebody else in the locker room but instead hating every player with a dark red jersey on. You may find it difficult to hate someone just for putting on a different jersey than you, but it isn’t until you put on that helmet that has the ‘R’ and the pride of your school on it and you have to beat the person in front of you to get the extra yard, to make the catch, to get the tackle, to block them off. In moments like that you forget completely about the person trying to stop you because their meaningless and you're busy trying to complete the task. When I rush with anger my goal is to put the kid in front of me on his butt and progress on to take the quarterback like a ragdoll and slam him on the ground as hard as possible. It sounds and seems terrible when I write it and read it back to myself, but it’s hard to understand until you're in the same type of situation. Once you play football your mindset alters and changes. This night was the easiest time in each player's life to find this anger because no one cared what happened to the kid they were up against.
This game was a very challenging one throughout for so many different reasons. We sustained the loss of 5 starters because Wayne Hills plays and hits dirty which definitely affected our roster. As I have said already, Wayne Hills was a great team, as we were also. We were basically identical in makeup we both had very good athletes, we had a lot of big and strong kids, both of our quarterbacks were very good, and we both were versatile in every aspect of the game. Their offensive and defensive line which as a lineman I dealt with all game were rather good and were all pretty large and tough opponents. It was a very back and forth game, a lot of punting and fourth downs. We definitely worked our hardest all season in this game. We were doing good all game, having a lead for almost the entire time. But the game remained close with both teams trudging forward or making a big play on either side of the ball. 20 seconds left, their ball 34-yard field goal attempt…… it goes in. A perfect kick. We lose 27 to 26. We lose by 1 point.

No one speaks. I punch the wall. Nobody is smiling or taking their gear off, everyone's just sitting there. That was painful, only thing you can call it, painful. I was upset with this loss but this was a good experience for me. It changed me. It changed me forever. I am determined to not only start on varsity but to win states this year and next year. This changed me in the fact that I push myself past my mental limits in the weight room so that extra ounce of muscle I have in my body is able to push me through another play and contribute to the team. I am determined to be the best I can be, whether this leads to playing in college at a D1, D2, D3, or not even playing I will always carry this lesson with me. The lesson to never give up, do it for your brothers, have confidence you can do it. Succeed.

A lot happened the day of that one point loss, and it definitely changed me and the way I carry myself forever. But also made me show how physical and committed you have to be to play football. This not only taught me valuable lessons but helped to shape me into the man I am today. I will never forget this game because of it's huge impact on my life and my football career in general, altering my mindset to make football a much higher priority in my life, and make me want to succeed in the sport  more than ever.