Football games, cheering in the stands, dressing up for the right theme, watching the halftime show, are all things that the Arapahoe student body thinks of when thinking about a fun way to spend their Friday nights. Due to COVID-19, everything seemed to change this year for our football season. 

Starting with pre-season. There was no guarantee of any season and when the team would be able to play. After some difficult decisions, CHSAA decided to have a fall season and a spring season for the sport. Arapahoe made the decision to play the fall season, and the boys got to work. When asked about how practice was different this year, Brenden Mcardle (Senior, Varsity ) said, “Practice was different because we had to wear masks under our helmets and stay as far away from other people as possible.” 

Once the season started, the players had to adjust to getting ready for games without locker room access. One big difference between this year and past years is the student section. The Arapahoe student section has been a big highlight for the players in the past, having a crowd to hype them up if they’re winning, and cheer them on if they’re losing. Due to social distancing regulations, each player was given two tickets to give to their loved ones for both home, and away games. In addition to that, a few seniors were selected in raffles to be at home games. When Gavin White (Senior, varsity wide receiver) was asked if not having the student section made a difference, he replied with, “Having no audience didn’t really affect me because the two people I wanted to be there at games were able to be there. And I don’t need a crowd to perform because I’m not playing for the crowd.” However, Colin Farquhar (Junior, varsity tight end and defensive end), took the opposing side, “Home field advantage didn’t exist because we didn’t have people cheering and getting hyped. So games could feel really deflated at points and quiet.” One alternative that was developed this year was live streams so fans can watch the game from home. 

Overall, throughout the challenges that our Arapahoe football team encountered with this season, they pulled through and won 4 games, and lost 3. They won against Smoky Hill, Overland, Mullen, and Horizon, but lost against Eaglecrest, Cherry Creek, and Grandview. When the team was asked what game they played best at, they all agreed on Smoky Hill’s game. Ezekiel Peirce (Senior, running back) ran for six touchdowns against Smoky Hill, who was usually a high scoring team, with AJ Scheckenbach scoring one touchdown. Thanks to our tough defense, and hard working offensive line, the game resulted in a 49-34 win. 

Although the three football teams pushed through this year, we are all hoping to be back at Littleton Public Stadium next year, cheering on our Arapahoe Warriors for the best season yet!