On Sept. 12, Park put up a fight against Mahtomedi during their homecoming football game, but lost 13-38. While they didn’t score enough points to surpass Mahtomedi during the second half, in the fourth quarter, junior Everett Arnold passed to sophomore Jayden Post in the endzone for a touchdown, making it a two-score game.
Junior Everett Arnold said the team went into the game with high spirits. According to him, even though they started off the game with a touchdown, the team was unable to regain its full enthusiasm.
“I’d say before the game, the (team’s energy) was a ten out of ten. We came out, scored right away, and (then) it depleted. We were trying to get that back up,” Arnold said.
According to assistant coach Brian Maliszewski, he emphasized the team’s need for composure through the game’s chaos because it allowed them to concentrate while on the field.
“The game is fast and loud and (has) lots going on, so just keeping them in the moment is the best way to settle things down and just keep them focused on their job,” Maliszewski said.
Arnold said when he needed motivation during the game, he watched the fans cheer the team on. According to him, it’s easy to fall into a negative mindset after bad plays on the field, but understanding there are people rooting for you is helpful to move forward.
“Don’t get drowned out in the energy because that’s what happened to us. If things go bad on the field, we still have to look up on the stands and know everyone’s there supporting us,” Arnold said.
According to sophomore Carter Kuehn, Park was giving off an adequate amount of liveliness, but it could always use a boost.
“The energy (of our team) was about an eight out of ten for most of the game. The crowd was not as loud as I expected, but the energy was still very high,” Kuehn said.
According to Maliszewski, Park football is a supportive environment. He said instead of placing blame, they uplift each other.
“We pull each other up. This team is really good about staying close. We don’t point a lot of fingers. We do a good job up and down the field, but really picking each other up and keeping the spirits up keeps us going all in the same direction,” Maliszewski said.
Kuehn said the game prompted him to think about the level of competitiveness the team needs to show before playing against skilled teams like Saint Francis and Cretin-Durham Hall.
“The game gives us a pretty good idea about how we will compete against the teams like Cretin-Derham Hall and Saint Francis,” Kuehn said.
Park football’s next game is against Cretin-Derham Hall at 7 p.m. Sept. 19th at St. Thomas.
