Coming off of a rough start to their season, the varsity football team is looking forward to their upcoming homecoming game for a chance to improve their record, according to head coach Ben Wolfe.

“Our goal is to go 1 and 0 for the week and beat Richfield and really that’s our focus,” Wolfe said. “We want to win with our preparation we’ve put in starting last Saturday and the work we are putting in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”

Sophomore Zollie Kaplan is a member of the team and said he shares Wolfe’s optimism regarding their positive outcome.

“It’s definitely going to go well. We’ve been preparing for this game for a bunch of weeks now and it’s been on all the players mind since the beginning of the season,” Kaplan said. “Coming off of two losses, everyones going to try their hardest because no one wants to be beat at home.”

Wolfe said he believes some of the strengths of the current football team include the compatibility of the players and their increase in self confidence which will be beneficial during the homecoming game.

“I feel like they’ve put a lot of work in during the offseason and they’ve started to believe in what they can do, and they get along really well,” Wolfe said. “I think a lot of the kids have a lot of friends on the team and they work together really well, and really that’s what it’s all about. Having a lot of guys that can contribute and help out.”

In order to come together and play better, the team has focused hard in practice by running their opponent’s offensive and defensive plays, as well as watching and studying film everyday according to Kaplan.

While typically homecoming results in larger numbers of attendance, Wolfe said having a large fan section inspires the team and enhances the feeling of school spirit and support.

“It’s definitely a positive to feel the support of the fans, the community and the school. It adds an extra level of energy and intensity, but it also encourages some distractions in a way,” Wolfe said. “At the end of the day we’ve got to go out there and take care of Richfield, and whether there’s a bunch of people in the stands or nobody in the stands we’ve got to go out and take care of business.”

Kaplan said as a player he appreciates having fans in the stands and thinks their spirit sets the overall tone of the game.

“It’s definitely nice to have supportive fans,” Kaplan said. “No team wants to go out there and have no one cheer for them. Everyone wants to be cheered on and I think the fans are a major part of the attitude of the game.”

The homecoming game will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12 at the stadium.