Football games are a significant part of anyone’s high school life, but Cy Woods football takes it to the next level. There are so many things that go on at a Cy Woods game. All the way from the players on the field, to the Cadette’s and Wild Things on the sideline, and coaches up from above helping out the coaches from the field. 

  Varsity starting running back Trayse Holmes is going on his second year as a varsity player as a junior. A lot of eyes are on Holmes as he is on the field every game night fighting the opponent with his teammates. Holmes will look to build on his 519 yard from last year, as a sophomore. Here’s an inside view of Holmes Game day.

  Before the game starts, the team sits in the locker room waiting for the game to start, this is what Holmes does to get himself ready. 

  “My game day routine is to sit in the locker room and talk to my teammates about what we should do before the game and get a game plan for the game and get our minds right,” Holmes said. 

  The game goes on, play after play the Wildcats are giving it their all to prevent the opponent from winning. A bunch of things go through people’s heads when the game is going on. For Holmes he has something else on his mind

  “When I’m on the field a lot of thoughts go through my head like who I have to block or what play we are running next and that if I do my job on the field, we can succeed,” Holmes said. 

  As the game comes to an end, every player looks back at what they have done and chooses their favorite part of the game. 

  “ My favorite part of the game is just being on the field with my teammates working hard each snap of the game,” Holmes said. 

 Talent is always great to have on a team but without a coach a team will never survive. Christopher Forcha is one of the offensive coaches for the varsity team. During the game Forcha is usually in the press box talking to the coaches on the field through a headset. He helps and tells the coaches what’s happening in the game that the coaches can’t see from the field. This is the Forcha’s seventh year coaching at Cy-Woods. Here is how Forcha prepares himself for games. 

  “I prepare for games by watching film, setting up the scout team during practice, and working with the offensive special teams,” Forcha said. 

  As the game goes on, Forcha is doing what he can to help the team be successful and beat the opponent.

  “During the games, I am up-stairs in the press box. I mainly watch the opponent’s defensive secondary along with other duties that have been assigned to me,” Forcha said.

  As the game comes to an end, Forcha recalls his favorite part of the game.

  “at the end of the night looking at the scoreboard and seeing the wildcats outscore the opponent and also seeing the team getting in a victory formation,” Forcha said. 

  As the wildcats win, Forcha and the rest of the coaches cherish and celebrate their win, but for Forcha’s it means something else.

  “ I feel great and excited after a big win. Not just for myself, but the entire football program. It’s satisfying to watch a group of young men work hard all week and then collect their paycheck on game night,” Forcha said. 

  Cy Woods Wild Things are a huge thing to the Cy Woods community. The Wild Things are at every football game. They are known for getting all the fans and the students hyped and excited during the game. They also run flags across the field every time the team scores. Wild Thing Collin Bass is one of the Wild Things that’s at every game. Collin is a big part of the football games by yelling and moving around with the crowd and also running with the huge 212° flag across the field. Here’s Bass’s perspective of the game while hes on the sidelines pumping up the crowds. The Wild Things have lots of responsibilities during the game. Here are some that all of them have to do.

  “ Our main responsibility is to keep our student section excited but also classy. When the game gets close and feelings get tense, the Wild Things must be able to stop conflicts before they happen. But we are there to unify everyone’s excited energy in cheers, chants, and endless screaming too,” Bass said.  

  The Wild Things during the game always interact with the drum line and cheerleaders by doing chants together and dancing. 

“We all interact with endless smiles. Games are loud, and the student section is even louder, so there isn’t much time to talk but we interact by sharing huge smiles with one another. It’s honestly the best feeling to be having lots of fun jumping to the drum line, then looking over and seeing 30+ drum line and cheerleaders having just as much fun as you,” Bass said.

  By the end of the game Bass has done a lot, this is his favorite part of the game.

  “ My favorite thing to do on the field is definitely to run the 212° flag after a touchdown! It’s an honor to be able to run a flag that represents a huge part of Cy-Woods and wave it in front of our giant crowd. Since freshman year I’ve always had the goal of being able to run the 212° flag and it is truly a dream to do it every single game,” Bass said. 

  Georgia Redwine is a senior at Cy Woods and is part of the national champion group that won last year. This is Redwine’s third year being on the Cadettes so she has a lot of experience going and performing at the games. The Cadettes are usually in the stands doing routines for the most part of the game, and are performing at halftime with the color guard team. The Cadettes start practicing many hours before the game starts. This is the normal routine for a cadette. 

  “Typically for a Thursday or Friday game, we practice our dance before we leave the school, and then we leave and get ready. I get home and do my cadette performance, makeup, and curl or straighten my hair, eat dinner, fill up my water bottle, and then grab my bag and head back up to the school to put on my uniform,” Redwine said. 

  The Cadettes main performance is during halftime. They go out on the field and perform with the color guard team. 

  “We practice our dance in the parking lot, and then we walk out on the field and perform. After we perform we watch our amazing band from the sideline and we also watch our visiting team before we go back in the stands,” Redwine said. 

  Redwine’s favorite part of the game is supporting out team and cheering them on throughout the whole game.

  Come out to the next Wildcats game to see every aspect of the game. The wildcats play the Bryan Vikings at Merrill-Green Stadium.