I have been chasing a certain feeling for a while now, a feeling beyond my prehension, for I have been numb since the rain washed Belton. Yea, for a while now, I have been dreaming of fall.

I love football. I have loved football for as long as I can remember. The best part of me comes out every time I touch the field. There is nothing like hearing the wind rush past you when you're running the football. Even when the crowd chants in unison, even when the trumpets blare and the drummers' thrum, all you can hear is the wind. Everything's in motion, but there's no sound. Nowhere else do I feel so alive, and I know others that can attest to this.

However, what makes this game so great is the people whom I play it with. With that said, I’d like to prolong this season for as long as possible. For there are no more mat rooms, no more spring. The toll of camp has passed, and now, for thirty-one seniors (including myself), it is the beginning of the end. And I can reflect back to just two years ago, en route to Pineville, where mine and many others careers were just beginning to began – now here we stand – one last chance. But if there's one thing I've learned along the way, it's this: every Saturday is an opportunity. Every second on the clock is a chance for you to do something that's never been done. You can either seize it or carry the regret with you off the field. That is the essence of football. That is a fact of life. Will you take advantage of the moment or let it pass you by?

Now many have their expectations; within and outside the locker room. As for me, I expect victory. But victory to me isn’t something that shows on a scoreboard or newspaper, it runs deeper than that. Victory, in a greater sense, is a relationship between you and the man you fight alongside. A relationship built upon love - nothing less. For there are those who compete for the sake of self-gratification , self-glory, and other self seeking acts, and indeed, they may be highly motivated from this, it may even grant them victory, but what really have they gained? However, if we compete with each other, then we play for something even greater than the game itself. And if we win in that manner – well - there's no greater tread to victory.

Nevertheless, I am confident that I will witness just that. As there is no better team I've ever been a part of concerning the aspect of love and togetherness; for that, I am more than grateful.

Now this Friday, we’re westward bound. And Saturday, a new road begins. Who's going to seize the moment while it stands?