Apalachee football team breaks losing streak

Apalachee!

For nearly four long, challenging, and even traumatic years, the Apalachee Wildcats had been dreaming of this moment. Finally a big lead on the field. They hadn't won a game in four years, 0 and 29. Kevin Saunders is the team's latest head coach. The team doesn't know what a victory even feels like. No, they don't, but they have not won a varsity football game. Nobody in that locker room has.

When we first met him this summer, we noticed he wasn't here to play. He was here to win. He does not know what he's doing. Out! Being a leader is not easy, and being a leader is not always accepted. If you want to be accepted, you sell ice cream. That's the easiest way to-- everybody likes the guy who sells ice cream. Do they tell you to go inside or outside the guy?

His players, including senior linebacker Ryan Hansen, bought into their new coach's intensity. A mentality that we have to have out here. You have to want it. We've got kids that have never played before that want to be a part of something now, and that could be a reflection of what's happened in the past with the tragedy.

The tragedy. This team was coming back from something more challenging than a string of losses on a football field. 11 months ago, a shooter at Apalachee High killed two students and two teachers. One, Richard Aspinwall, was the team's defensive coordinator. It comes up a decent bit just because that was my coach. That was my defensive coordinator. He was like my main man, but guys got it.

To deal with the trauma, Coach Saunders brought in Christian Guerra.

Do your job. Do it well.

--a mental performance coach. Some players are-- just the way for them to cope is, hey, I want to focus on being on the field, doing the best I can. Some, they want to talk about it a little bit more. Stay locked in. Stay locked in. Hey, we're going victory.

Which is why Saturday night was so deeply meaningful for this team and this community as the final seconds ticked off. Let's go, Coach. Let's go, Coach. Let's go.

They did it, 29 to 9, their first win since 2021. There's a community here that's going to be rooting for you too. This community wants to win and wants to have something positive happen for a change.

Football won't fix everything. This is-- I don't have words.

But here, it's now a reason to rally and to believe that the comeback is always stronger than the setback. For Eye on America, I'm Skyler Henry in Winder, Georgia.