On Friday, Aug. 24, the varsity football team went toe-to-toe with the Hagerty Huskies. In the first game of the regular season, the Patriots used a strong defense and plenty of scores from their running backs to outlast Hagerty with a score of 35-17.

Despite being behind by 7 early into the game, Brantley kept calm and slowly wore down the Huskie’s defense. Throughout the game, the Patriot’s defense stole the ball twice, which led to a pair of Patriot touchdowns. By the end of the game, the offense for LB was playing great and Hagerty could not find an answer for it. The win for Brantley gives the team a 1-0 record in the regular season, as well as an optimistic attitude towards the rest of the year.

“I think the team played pretty good as a whole,” junior offensive lineman Aiden Stein said. “The defense put the offense in good situations and the offense took advantage of it.”

Being an offensive lineman, Stein knows all too well that to have an impressive running performance like the team did is not a one man job. While the running backs may get all of the highlights and fame, the offensive line dominating the line of scrimmage is a necessity for any successful football game.

“The run game was so good because the big boys upfront, the offensive line, did their jobs to open the running lanes and allow the quarterback to make the right decisions,” Stein said. “The backs also read the field and lined up the plays very well.”

The exciting performance from the team translated into excitement in the stands. The student section was eager to start the season on the right foot, and celebrated accordingly. There was not a still body in the stands, as the crowd cheered, danced, and shouted their team to victory.

“Seeing the team play so well is really fun for us in the student section,” junior Reese Bennet said. “They obviously scored a bunch of touchdowns, so the team gave us a bunch of times to go crazy.”

With a win against Hagerty, Brantley becomes undefeated, albeit after one game, in the regular season. Earning a statement win in week one helps to create an optimistic attitude for the rest of the season, and sets the bar for every game from now until the end of the season.

“Getting this week one win is very important to the team,” Stein said. “Starting off the season with a won builds momentum that they can ride off of for the upcoming weeks.”