Do you ever wonder how certain athletes feel after playing their hearts out in a championship game and losing? It can be difficult to put yourself in such an athlete’s shoes if you’ve never faced that situation before. Even if you have, your reaction may not be the same as another athlete’s. Fortunately, players from the DeMatha football team, who just lost in the WCAC Championship, were willing to share how they felt after the game.

Sophomore defensive back Landon Williams spoke about the hardship of the game, stating that it felt like “a punch in the face” due to the team “[working] so hard to get to that moment” and ultimately “losing it for ourselves.” Despite the tragic end to this season, multiple players express hope for the next season. Williams assured that “with hard work we going to come back even better next year,” while sophomore Joshua Parker says that “next year I promise things will be different.”

When one team loses the championship, another has won, so after talking with DeMatha football players, their opponents were given a chance to voice their feelings after their victory. Good Counsel’s sophomore quarterback Drew Williams stated that he felt “amazing” due to the satisfaction of “all the hard work [the team] put towards this moment paying off.” He says he feels they, “proved the doubters wrong.”

Summarizing both teams’ accounts from the games, it seems that both teams grew from this experience and will fight for the prize of the championship again next year.