Have you seen our new freshman football team? They are off to a great start, going 3-2 this season with wins against Chantilly, Falls Church, and Mt. Vernon. Coach Long, the new freshman coach, started off the season beating Falls Church 60-0. While Mt. Vernon was not an easy opponent, the South Lakes football team still put up an amazing fight and won 16-0. The team’s most recent win, against Chantilly, was a great game from both sides with the Seahawks coming out on top. 

With practices everyday and lots of hard work, South Lakes has one of the best freshman football teams in recent years. As the season progresses the Seahawks are on track to continue their winning ways. The team includes players putting on great performances such as defensive tackle Gabriel Dominguez-Shatley and running back Nick Picarelli, who are both on the way to possibly making varsity in the next upcoming season. 

During an interview, when asked about performance and motivation, Dominguez-Shatley says,  “I started off strong, but had a rough game against Chantilly, luckily, I was able to bounce back against Oakton. To be the best that you can, you have to put in more work than others expect. You can’t just run through the motions in practice and be successful. You have to put in the work on your own time and work mentally as well as keeping up grades to play and watch film to understand the game.” .South Lakes will take on three more teams during the season: Westfield, Madison, and Centreville, some of the best teams in the region. However, as South Lakes faces better teams, our team gets better. 

In another interview, Picarelli told me, “I play football for the game, not to tell people I play football. I’ve had some tough times this season but everytime I’m able to get back up and keep going on driving. I don’t have good performances just by going 50% at practice and not giving it my all.”

The special game of the freshman season will be against Westfield as they are our toughest opponents and the game is on Halloween. We hope to see you at all of our upcoming games!