WEST ALLIS — Football is back, and you might say, already? But for a handful of area high schools and the WIAA, they opted to pass on the fall, and take a fling at the spring.
"Can't wait to feel the butterflies in your stomach and then you know, as you're counting down, the ball goes up. It's just an unbelievable feeling," Huskies running back and linebacker Tobey Sayeg says.
At Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, they have a good problem. The Huskies had about 90 kids go out for football. And with not enough equipment.
"That's definitely a good problem," Nathan Hale Head Coach Scott Flood says. "Obviously I had to have conversations about hey, we gotta get more equipment. And make sure that you know, players' safety is number one. We have some kids trying out that haven't played. You know, that have played other sports like soccer or trying, they decided to come out and try it."
A lost fall is providing energy and excitement this spring.
"Probably the best feeling I've had in a really long time. Especially with COVID going on these past few months. And I mean, we've been, our whole team's been working for the past 16 months, waiting to get a chance to come back out here," Sayeg says.
"It starts with the numbers," Flood says. "And then from there, you know, you guys coming out, checking us out. And I told the kids and I told the parents day one, this is a leadership development course. We just happen to play football, and that's a sport we love to play."
For athletes like Tobey Sayeg, it's hard to balance football and their normal spring sports, like track.
"I'll miss the indoor season for track," Sayeg says. "But I'll for sure being going out there for the later outdoor season."
But when the ball kicks off Friday night, these kids will be having a ball.
"I'm excited that our seniors get the opportunity to play right now," Flood says. "You know, they missed out in the fall, where you know 70 percent of the schools went about. And now they're having that opportunity to finish out their high school career, playing football."
"New team. New conference. New year. So it will be really exciting to see what happens," Sayeg says.
Nathan Hale visits Whitnall on Friday night, and we'll have coverage of that and more. The Friday Football Frenzy is back baby.
