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Friday night lights is one of the most anticipated events of the year, and this year, the NS football team is catching everyone’s attention. The teams’ record of 4-2 overall and 1-2 in region reflect the morals and ethics the team plays by.
“We have a code of ethics we follow and talk about every week, and we see how we can relate it to football and just real life,” senior Braden Palmer said.
Coach Dave Peck, this year’s new head coach, introduced this code of ethics to strengthen the team and the players individually.
“I think it’s not only helped to be better on the field, but I think it’s meant to help them be better kids,” Peck said. “If they see garbage at school, they pick it up. It’s just about making a difference in a good way.”
Peck returning as head coach this season has had an influence on players who had doubts going into the season.
“I was honestly thinking about quitting, and then I heard coach Peck was coming and I wanted to give it another try. He’s just helped me be better in every way,” senior Rafael Contreras said.
Coach Peck’s influence has also changed the attitude on the field during game nights.
“The change is huge, people are being more respectful to other players and even school staff, it also helped us bond in a way,” senior Dakota Draper said.
While the changes are affecting the team in a positive way, there are still times where discipline has to be used to enforce the rules.
“Sometimes, you just have to call them out on it and I’m not afraid to. If I hear anything vulgar, it’s 100 up downs,” Peck said. “It’s not to be mean, it’s just our rules and that’s how you learn lessons.”
Despite their recent loss during homecoming to cedar city, the team has had amazing wins, including a last minute win against a strong canyon view team.
“I think we did good with staying focused and just stayed playing till the end,” Contreras said. “It was a pretty big highlight because we all never gave up, even if it felt like we should’ve.”
With the turnout of the season so far, the team focuses on goals that they have going into the next games.
“We had discussions about being united towards one goal and how we need to have a plan, believe in that plan, and then act on it,” Palmer said. “So being on the team I trust that everyone will do their job to get the plan in motion. It’s helped us be better on the field a lot.”
While these goals have helped make the team stronger, there are still challenges that the team faces outside of the playing field.
“The teams kind of overlook us and say that we are bad, it sometimes throws us off, but I think we do good in overcoming those comments,” Contreras said.
Challenges like these also have effects during games. Sometimes it makes their outcome come down to trust in other players.
“I got everyone together and just said that I trust them to get the job done, so they need to trust me too,” Palmer said.
Even when they’re not performing the way they want to, their mindset has an influence on players individually and altogether as a team.
“I think just coming back when we are down, knowing that we can make a comeback even if it doesn’t look good for us,” Draper said.
As the season continues, the team is expected to carry out these morals not just in football, but all across their lives as it has had an impact on and off the field.
“Really I just want our kids to continue to grow and learn, because that’s what our program’s about,” Peck said. “Hopefully, we can influence other programs and the student body.”
