As the 2021 Azle Football Season has come to an end, so has my time as a Rowdy. I’m very glad I was able to take advantage of this opportunity, and I definitely had some of the most fun I’ve ever had.

I remember our first game this season at Fossil Ridge was one full of emotions. As Jakson and Jesse carried Jack’s #58 jersey to the 20 yard line, the crowd was completely silent. As soon as they got to the twenty, they sprinted to the student section and it rightfully erupted in cheer. That set the expectation and tone for the rest of the season, and for the most part, I would say that it lived up to these expectations. That game was a tough loss, but still enjoyable; I was looking forward to our first home game.

Unfortunately, I came down with COVID and had to miss the first home game, but we won. Then the next game was our senior night. This was an awesome game, and I got to be escorted by my mother when Coach Averitte called my name. There was a sea of white in the student section as well as on the field, and we won that game against Burleson.

The following game was Western Day against Arlington Heights, and I’d have to say my Western Day outfit went pretty hard. Everyone expected a blowout that game, and we delivered and beat Arlington Heights by a sizable margin.

After that game, we played Saginaw on their Homecoming. Once again, everyone knew that Saginaw was a pretty weak team this year and we expected to do very well. We did and won 65-0 that game. It was Mardis Gras-themed, and my outfit was very last minute, but some of my favorite pictures of this season came from that game.

Our game against Crowley was certainly a memorable one, and not in a great way. Within about two minutes into the game, Crowley’s entire team left the field, and then our team did the same. After seeing the ambulance, we assumed a Crowley coach had either a heart attack or a stroke. It was a rough way to start our Homecoming game, but despite this, we still won.

Our next game was a Superhero theme in Granbury, and my Thor outfit was pretty impressive if you ask me. It was a weird game for the Rowdies and cheerleaders, just because their football field didn’t have a sideline. Also, our student section was relatively small, but it was still an enjoyable game and a good win.

There was a lot of trash talk back and forth between us and Brewer students before the Brewer game, as they are basically our biggest rival. We were all looking forward to that game, and we knew it would be a good one. The crowd was a sea of pink, and we were riled up the whole game. We hung in pretty well through the first half, but the second half Brewer pulled away. It was undoubtedly a tough loss, with Brewer students going to the Azle Hornets Meme Instagram page to talk trash. In my opinion, the majority of the comments on the meme page were extremely out of line and trashy.

We had another huge district game the next week against Abilene Cooper. I remember that morning yelling over the football stadium P.A. “Poop on Cooper!” We did, as we beat them by nearly 30 points.

Our final regular season was huge for playoff seeding, but we knew we had a tough contest against Northwest. That was our camo game, and I remember everyone in the stands blasting duck calls at any time we were cheering or arguing. We pulled away in the 3rd quarter, but Northwest nearly caught up. Thankfully, we were able to hold them. After the game ended, I ran over to the Northwest side and flew their “Come and Take it” flag; definitely one of the biggest highlights of this season.

In our first playoff game and final game this season, we took on a strong Mansfield Summit team. They were a great team and beat us by a solid margin, but it was still a very enjoyable game and an emotional one since for all of the seniors, it would be the last time either playing, for their team or watching them. The season truly came to an end as the last fight song rang.

My time as a Rowdy was something I’ll remember forever. I truly loved being a Rowdy for the football season, and I’ll certainly miss it.