On Friday, November 6, in an away game versus the Reading Knights, McCaskey’s Red Tornado won 14-10, scoring its first win since 2007. It was McCaskey’s last game of the season. According to students, the excitement was palpable throughout the campus on Monday, the first school day since Saturday’s victory.
McCaskey’s 2008 season was the school’s worst since the 1970s, resulting in the resignation of a former coach and the recruitment of new head coach David Given.
“Being a senior,” one girl said, “I haven’t seen my team win since my sophomore year.” She had attended the game as part of the marching band and said that few McCaskey students made it to the away game; but, thanks to online social platforms like Facebook, she noted, most students had heard the news by Monday morning. One 10th grade boy said that, among the student body, “Everybody’s just all hyped, if you know what I mean. Just energetic and stuff.” He added, “I was surprised that they won.”
“I was surprised,” a 9th grade girl said, reflecting a common sentiment, “I didn’t think they would win.”
Some students were less impressed with the narrow victory. “We could do a whole lot better,” one girl said, “It’s just one game.” An 11th grade boy described what he considered a performance-stunting level of bravado among players on McCaskey’s team: “I think they would do a lot better if they wouldn’t try to show off. I think they’re all trying to impress everybody by themselves, but if they worked together they could do a whole lot more.”
Although it was only one small victory, a 10th grade boy did note that “Reading beat us pretty badly last year,”
According to a 12th grade boy, who had played on the team during its losing streak, “They are doing better with the new coach. Next year they should do alright. This year, I don’t know what happened—they just had a late start.”
I think there doing really BAD these past years this year they didnt win a game at all…. they couldnt even win there homecoming game…