The local Football Team has traditionally been the cornerstone of every American town’s high school sports curriculum.  Although today there are certainly many high-caliber sports programs for both young men and young women, there is something special about a great local football team.  The weekly game is a rallying place for school and town pride like no other local sporting event.

In the dusty, blazing early September heat, or the freezing rain, sleet and cold pre-winter winds of November …a whistle blows for opening kick-off   ...The Game is on.  Football is a battle of gladiators, with emotions in the trenches running high.  It is an intensely mental and physically grueling contest.   The camaraderie developed among would-be warriors on that marked turf, imprints strongly on the character of each player.

Game day is electric.  Town bragging rights on the line for another year.   It is a test of will and mettle, a display of coaching skills and a reason to cheer.  Cries of dedicated parents and fans, out in all weather for even the smallest hope on the field of play, inspire.  Young boys look up to the team dressed impressively in heavy gear, and dream of someday walking into a crowded stadium to be tested.  Old men smile, recalling what it was like to break a huddle and walk up to the line of scrimmage as part of a team facing every challenge with grit. 

Football is as tough as it gets, requiring an enormous amount of work to create a competitive team.  Ten or so games and the high school season is over.   For football players, those hard fought victories are as sweet as life can be.  And, many learn there are few things more solemn than the sound of lockers slowly clicking open, equipment quietly dropping to the floor after a loss, searing in the disappointment of giving their all and it not being enough.

The local high school football program is as good a reason as any to rally the community around.  Please come out in spirited support of YOUR football team.  Your Milton High School Wildcats are local, kids leaving everything they have on the field under the lights on a Friday night or on a breezy Saturday afternoon, for just one blood and sweat victory.