Football is America’s heart and soul, the true love of many Americans and a source of pride at Rocky. After much suspense and drama throughout the season, the Lobo football season has finally come to a close. Some may not think highly of the team after their recent 57-7 loss to Fairview High School, but there was a lot of good this season too.

This season the team really worked hard to develop young players. During the 2018 season, many sophomores got the honor of not only suiting up for varsity, but getting quality game time. Towards the end of the season, the coaching staff focused more on developing the players as people as they prepared for seniors leaving and needed to fill a leadership void. Sophomore RB Sean Kidd said, “The team got better this year and the years to come are going to be full of good Lobo football.”

The season was very long and hard fought. This was especially illustrated in the first two losses of the season: The first game against FCHS (L) 9-3, and the second game against Chaparral (L) 18-10. In both of these contests the Lobos came up just short. This is a good defining moment for the season as they just fell short in many games. Throughout most games they held ground through the first half and then broke down in the second half. The defense allowed quick touchdowns and the offense had many turnovers.

Although Rocky didn’t gain a playoff berth, it wasn’t all for naught. Sophomore Kick Return Specialist Jared Kinney feels that, “We have a lot of young talent and I expect us to improve next year, and although we have all the seniors leaving next year, we will be better.”

At the commencement of the season, the Lobos were ranked 8400th in the nation and 140th in the state. Now, as the season closes, Rocky is ranked 7672nd in the nation and 117th in the state. These may seem like low rankings, but the silver lining is that there was improvement. The players developed, got stronger, and the future is bright for the ‘Bos.