The blinding Friday Night Lights shine on the emerald field at Imaculata-La Salle High School as the timer on the score board comes to an end, marking another triumph against an opponent. 

Although the ILS Football team hasn’t had the best track record, they truly have excelled this season. They went from underdogs to one of the top dogs in their division. 

For the first time in school history, the team is ranked. In Florida, they’re #160, Florida Division 4A #12, and in Miami #30. To add onto this, the boys are on a winning streak despite multiple injuries on their roster. 

They’re currently 4-0, winning both their home and away games and they don’t plan on stopping this anytime soon. 

“It feels amazing being ranked and on a winning streak, but the job isn’t done yet,” said senior Carlos Gomez when asked about this accomplishment. 

Who to thank for this? Their coaches, Head Coach Helder Valle and Assistance Coach DeAndre Mickens. 

The boys are hard at work during practices completing drills, conditioning, and weight training in order to up their performance.

Starting off, the boys suit up before heading out on the field. They stretch and quickly get into pre-practice which consists of individual warm up depending on the players position. After this, they get into actual practice which consists of reviewing and practicing plays. Finally, they run through a game and try all their plays three times.

“We all just understand the sacrifices it takes to win even if that means missing events or your own birthday for practice. Our guys understand that and we put in more work than anyone else,” said senior Gabriel Benitez.

Along with this, the boys are known for being a close group. This mainly has to do with their strong bond. Their annual retreats are known to bring them together. Along with this, the fact that the boys have each other’s backs on the field helps. 

“I feel that this team is different in many ways than other teams, but mainly because of the bond that we have as a family. We all developed bonds with each other as if we were blood brothers,” said Benitez.

What’s next for them? Beating St. Brendan. Come out and show your support this Thursday at the glow party, kick off is at 6 PM.