In heartbreaking fashion, the Kings Knights football team lost to Miamisburg 28-24, which ended many seniors’ football careers. The high school football journey is an emotional one, especially at Kings. These young men dedicate four years of their lives to play a game they love, and now it’s all over.  

Many seniors have been playing this game their entire life. Naturally there is an overload of emotions in a time like this. Not all bad though, there were plenty of amazing moments to think about, including the effectiveness of the defense this season.

David Smith, senior on the defensive line, snagging a handful of tackles and supplying the energy when on the field this season. Smith has played football for 9 years and has loved every second of it.

“The entire season was great, it was full of success and good memories as have all 4 years of my high school career. It’s still pretty surreal that it’s over. It’s heartbreaking,” Smith said. “To have something like that, that is such a big part of your life and who you are as a person, ripped away from you, it stings. I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat”

It’s an amazing experience that not everyone gets a chance to participate in. The seniors that did get to are extremely grateful, just like David, but another senior who was broken up about the season’s end was linebacker and special teams player, Avery Roe.

Roe has played since junior high and has started at linebacker and held a minor unspoken leadership role on the Knights defense since his junior year. Roe tallied 36 tackles his senior season.

“Really disappointing with the way it all ended, but it was nice to go back and look at it all,” Roe said. “I was happy with 4 years I had. Afterward I just tried to think about the good times rather than the bad.”

Rather than let the pain of the season ending get to them, these two seniors have decided to look back on all the good times they had play the game they love surrounded by friends they will never forget.

By Bailey Blanton