All of Perry continues to have high hopes for the Varsity Football team as the 2014 season comes closer to a beginning. Last year’s season had only two wins and was the first in Puma history to not progress to playoffs, so students and teachers look to the team to see what their next move will be.

Regarding the unfortunate losses from the previous season, senior varsity quarterback Austin Nightingale stated, “We moved up a division, so we weren’t really expecting everyone to hit [us] as hard as they did.”

Prepared coaches have made some changes to on-the-field playing, including a focus on keeping a separate offense and defense to assist with how tired players get during a game, but that will not be the only difference audiences will see.

“This year is going to be one to remember,” said senior wide receiver Alec Monte as he explained how the prior season was a thing of the past.

Head coach Preston Jones discussed which players everyone should have their eye on, including Nightingale, who is returning from a torn ACL. According to Jones, another player to watch would be Monte, one of the best receivers in the state last year until he was moved to replace Nightingale’s position subsequent to his injury.

Nightingale talked about his return to the team announcing, “being back in pads feels really good, it feels natural again. I feel 100% so I’m real excited for this season.”

Coaching positions this year have been adjusted due to some absences such as defensive coach Todd Rogers.

Rogers will not be joining the team just yet because he is currently recovering from colon cancer, but the team has not forgotten who they will be playing for this year. “As soon as coach Rogers gets back, we’ll be even better,” Jones said about the new coaches for the defensive line.

The varsity football team is starting off the year with large ambitions and a positive attitude to make it the most remembered season yet.

Nightingale was optimistic when he stated, “We’re going to try our hardest and we’ll see what happens.”