Last Friday October 27th, ILS football players, cheerleading team, and senior student body came together as the school’s annual senior night took place.

On this night, the football team played against Northwestern, to which they lost 0-42.

Despite their discouragement, they took this opportunity to reflect on the defeat. They acknowledge that no matter how much they train and how good they are, there will be times when they lose a match. Though they were afflicted with losing on their senior night, they came as a team and learned to overcome this defeat, learn from it, and moved forward. The athletes faced frustration and some claimed they could have played better as a team. Knowing they couldn’t give it their best can take a toll on their mental outlook on the sport. However, they are looking forward to coming out of this experience wiser and stronger than before.

“The loss certainly hurt because it was our senior night. I don’t think we played as aggressively as we could’ve. The other team had a really good defense and we unfortunately made a lot of defensive mistakes,” claimed Logan Augst, a quarterback for the Royal Lions’ team. 

Furthermore, Royce Adeniken, another player on the team, shared how his emotions got the best of him during and after the match:

“As Northwestern’s score got progressively higher, I began to feel a lot of emotions: mad, sad, disappointed. I focused too much on these feelings and not enough on my playing.” 

Additionally, Royce stated the following:

“It was just disappointing because it was our first and last ever senior night. I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. It was our fault as a team. We win and lose together.” 

As Adeniken expressed, the team makes sure not to play a blaming game. They know they ultimately need to come together for the very best outcome on any game.

Lastly, a third player on the team shared his point of view: 

“I think we lost because we didn’t play as a team; we played individually. We let our emotions get the best of us,” said Billy Saleh.

It is obvious that the Royal Lions continue to take their game seriously. They chose not to let this defeat bring them down. By practicing mindfulness, sticking to the present, and leaving aside criticism, judgment, and negative thoughts The team looks forward to their next game.