After making it to State for the first time in St. Louis Park history in 2017, according to Defensive Coordinator Jason Foster, the varsity football team is working hard to ensure another outstanding season.

Although last year was one of their best seasons yet, according to Foster, there are still improvements the team needs to make. Foster said he has been working with the team on the methods that led to its success last season.

“I work with the defense side of the ball, especially in that area we have to stop people from scoring, and we had that success in our Sections championship game last year. We’ve built that up, and it went a long way for us last year so we need to continue that same teaching method with the kids,” Foster said.

The tight-knit community of last year’s team played a big part in getting them to State. Senior captain Adam Bauer said he hopes that will continue into this season.

“Last year the football team as a whole was a brotherhood. Our chemistry was better than any other year by far,” Bauer said. “I’m going to try to maintain the team chemistry from last year. If we can do that, we will be successful again.”

With many returning players and comparable skill to last year, Bauer said he believes the team can have another great season.

“I can see us going farther than last year. I think our talent is similar to last year’s, so it’s gonna come down to the team chemistry,” Bauer said.

Having set its goals high, Foster said he believes the team can reach those goals with the right energy and attitudes from the players.

“Optimistically, I think we can go as far as we want to go. We try to take it day-by-day, week-by-week and game-by-game. Ultimately we try to get to t

he Conference championship and from there the Section championship and then from there the State championship,” said Foster.

According to Foster, the team has a history of a strong support system and fan base of both students and Park graduates to cheer them on.

“We’ve had some rough seasons, and we’ve always had the support. We really have some true die hard Park fans that show how much the school loves the sports there. The support the community gives for the teams is amazing,” said Foster.

According to the StarTribune, the Park football team beat Bloomington Kennedy 34-7 in their first game Aug. 30. Their next game in the season is at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 against Robbinsdale Cooper at home.