For nearly four, long, challenging — even traumatic years — the Apalachee Wildcats had been dreaming of this moment: cheering fans in the stands and finally a big lead on the field.
Before this weekend, the high school football team in Winder, Georgia, hadn’t won a game since 2021, a losing streak so long that many questioned it if it would ever end.
Earlier this summer, when CBS News first met Kevin Saunders, the team’s latest head coach, he showed he wasn’t there to play, he was there to win. He spoke about the challenges of changing a culture.
“Being a leader is not easy and being a leader is not always accepted. If you want to be accepted, you sell ice cream — everybody likes the guy that sells ice cream,” Saunders said. “I only know how to do it one way and that’s work hard.”
Saunders was also bringing change to a team in the wake of something much more challenging than a string of losses on a football field. Eleven months ago, a shooter at Apalachee High School killed two students and two teachers, including Richard Aspinwall, the team’s defensive coordinator.
“We’ve got kids that never played before that want to be a part of something now, and that could be a reflection of what happened in the past,” Saunders said.
His players, including senior linebacker Ryan Hansen, bought into their new coach’s intensity.
“The mentality that we have to have out here and the heart to play it now, you have to really want it,” Hansen said.
To deal with the trauma, Saunders brought in Christian Guerra, a mental performance coach.
“Some players, 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,” Guerra said.
That’s why Saturday night was so deeply meaningful for this team and the community. As the final seconds ticked off, the celebrations began.
“Your Apalachee Wildcats are victorious,” the announcer said.
Apalachee beat their opponents 29 to 9.
While football won’t erase the tragedy, it’s now a reason to rally — and to believe that the comeback is always stronger than the setback.
Skyler Henry is a CBS News correspondent based in Atlanta. Henry was most recently a correspondent for CBS Newspath in Washington.
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