Homecoming week is a special time at Woodbridge Senior High School. The Vikings take this time of the year very seriously between the parade, the pep rally, and the dance. However, no event of the week is more important to the Woodbridge faithful than the annual homecoming football game. With their pride and win streak on the line, the Vikings made their way onto the field on the brisk evening of October 25th. In front of the biggest crowd of the year by far, the team did not disappoint.
The Woodbridge Football team has had a rollercoaster of a season. Starting with a 1-3 win/loss record, many wrote off the team before the season even got rolling. However, the team completely flipped the script in week five, beating the Hylton Bulldogs 53-2. This major win would start a three-game win streak that would propel The Vikings to a 4-3 record heading into the homecoming game.
Along with a homecoming football game comes the expectation of a win. Coincidentally, the team Woodbridge would be facing, Colgan High School, had the same win/loss record. This meant this game would be an essential win if the Vikings had any playoff hopes. With an equal number of wins, whichever team won this game would push themselves to a two-game lead over the other. While Colgan looked to be a challenge for the Vikings this year, the rivalry between the schools has been one-sided for the better part of a decade, with Woodbridge winning in almost every matchup for the last five years. All this to say, losing to Colgan could have been ruinous for The Viking’s reinvigorated season.
To win, it was important for the students of Woodbridge to show up and show out, especially with their school spirit in hand, and they, in fact, did. The students of Woodbridge piled up into the stadium in droves to watch. When asked about the school spirit, Senior Casey Thul said that the student section was “electric.” Senior Timothy Renquist mentioned that there was “a lot of school spirit out there.” The atmosphere of hundreds of cheering Woodbridge students all dressed in neon supercharged our Viking football team to a 28-17 bludgeoning of the Colgan Sharks.
The defense was smothering, only letting up two touchdowns to Colgan’s high-powered offense, even picking off their quarterback. While the defense was spectacular, the offense was even better. They found the endzone four times throughout the game, led by field general Denari Hill and the Bell-Cow back Marquece Sharpe. Both eclipsed the 100-yard mark in their respective stats, passing and rushing.
This year’s homecoming game was one for the ages; with a potential playoff spot on the line, a years-old streak that could have been broken, and the largest crowd of the year, the game had all the makings of an all-time classic. This game will not soon be forgotten by the Woodbridge faithful and will hopefully lead to a deep playoff run for the boys from the bridge.
