Have you caught it yet? Tigah swag is quickly becoming an epidemic here at HHS... an epidemic of school pride that is. The student section has picked up this new theme of "Tigah swag" for the fall season and it is starting to reach all corners of the school.
" I can't wait to see our student section grow even bigger as the season goes on," senior, Luke Fanning, said.
As we get closer to football playoffs it is important to look back and see what the Tiger football program has accomplished thus far this season. They began this season with a win against Schulyer 56-0. This was a great way to start off the season and roll into the following Friday's game against Adams Central.
"Practice was very focused and locked in the week before the AC game," senior Patrick Opperman, said. " The intensity was good because we were all pumped to play AC" he added.
Coach Rick Ripperger spoke a little more about what practice was like the week leading up to the big game.
" I think the guys were real anxious, some of them would've rather played the game on Monday," Ripperger said.
The HHS student body played a major role in the hype for the game.
" Everyone was expecting us to win and had a lot of confidence in us so we really didn't want to let our student body down," Opperman said.
The school atmosphere was definitely affected by the upcoming game Friday.
"Our kids may have been a little bit too hyped up," Ripperger said.
He says this because on the fateful Friday September 2nd our Hastings High Tigers fell to the Adam Central Patriots 13-3.
"As a coaching staff, we had a rough time putting our finger on why the mistakes that were made happened because they were very crucial. Maybe we lost focus," Ripperger said.
Though the Tigers did not come out with a victory that night, the coaching staff and coaches still had a positive outlook on what was to come for the rest of the season.
"Noone wanted to lose to Ac but after our post-game talk we know that we can learn and take things from the loss to make ourselves better. Each week we grow as a team" Opperman said.
"If you sit and dwell about the past, you will go nowhere," Ripperger said.
Coach Ripperger and his coaching staff did some thinking about the game and came up with a saying they feel will better the team.
"When you make a mistake... Do the next thing right," Ripperger said.
The following week HHS football was faced with the challenge of the Holdrege Dusters. The week leading up to this game was also filled with spirit and hype because it was the Tiger's homecoming game.
"I believe that we are slowly changing the culture of our school," Opperman said. "People are taking more of an interest in what we are doing on the field and in other activities at HHS,"
The student section has been very different since years past. Not only is there more focus on the field from the players, but also from fans in the section. This was shown both at the AC game and the Homecoming game against the Dusters.
"The atmosphere was intense because you could hear the crowd and you know the school is behind you," Opperman said following the Holdrege game.
After a big win against the Holdrege duster our HHS Tiger football moved to 2-1 on the season.
"We have a philosophy in our program, wins and losses are over with by Monday," Ripperger said.
That being said, the boys went back to work on Monday, putting their record behind them to focus on their next opponent, the Seward Bluejays. Though the football team may be moving forward with their season, our student body is continuing to remenice in our past successes.
"I got completely wrapped up in the moment," senior Lauren Bliss said " The coolest part of the game was when the team came over to the student section after they won and sang the school fight song with us,"
It is not only the students that feel the culture of HHS is changing for the better.
" I think that off the field you can really see the school changing, kids are more invlolved and excited about activities here," Ripperger said. "But on the field I think we need to be more confident we will pull out the win. We need to power through adversity with a positive mind set in all sports,"
As a student body, it is our job to continue the good work that has been shown both on and off the field. Though there is always room for improvement, a couple more students at the game or some extra minutes of practice, as a whole we are changing the atmosphere here at HHS. It is something that each and everyone of you should be proud of. Tigah Swag.