By Jaelin Lomax--Eagle Staff Writer
High hopes and aspirations of hanging a banner describe the Eagles' outlook on the 2021-22 football season; however, things didn't go as planned.
The Franklin County football season ended with a 35-27 loss at Western Branch in the opening round of the VHSL 6A Playoff. This game gave the Eagles a final record of 5-6 for the season.
The Eagles started their season off with losses at home to Bassett (42-25) and at Liberty Christian Academy (LCA) (56-26). Things began looking up though with the first win coming in week 4 at Magna Vista (48-19). Then, the Eagles dropped a close one at home against Hidden Valley (28-21) on Homecoming weekend.
The team then picked up the pace with wins at Staunton River (21-10) and at home against William Byrd (41-22), but fell to Salem in an away game the following week (49-7).
Shortly bouncing back, Franklin County won a tight contest at William Fleming (42-35) just before losing to district rival Lord Botetourt at home (49-28). However, the Eagles' regular season campaign positively ended with a win at home against Northside (42-22).
The Eagles had plenty of ups and downs throughout the season, but they battled through all sorts of adversity to finish the season strong.
Seniors on this team seem disappointed that they couldn’t end the year by hanging a state championship banner, but some hope to bring home some big wins once they enter college.
"I would say we could have worked harder in the off-season on getting bigger, faster, and stronger and also we could have been healthier along with taking COVID more seriously than we did," senior Jamerise Holland, wide receiver, said.
Other seniors agreed.
"We could have been more consistent on both sides of the ball (offense and defense) during the season, along with the weight room in the off-season everyday," senior and defensive end Elijah Witcher agreed.
On the other hand, underclassmen are using this season as fuel for what's to come.
"We HAVE to come back stronger and faster and we have to get better during this current offseason," junior Jahylen Lee, running back, emphasized.
Junior Eli Foutz, quarterback, shares Lee's perspective, but also wants to remember this season to show progress in the future.
"I think we will use this season as something to remember that shows we need to get better," he explained. "No matter how good we think we are, someone is still better."
"Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn," goes the old adage. This year's Eagles are proud of their wins and already looking forward to taking what they learned into next year's season.