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Allow me to paint you a mental picture of about a year ago on November 20, 2020.  The leaves were falling, and the temperatures were dropping and lightly rising, for the only way you could predict what the weather conditions would be was by looking at the weather app.  That date may look familiar to most, for it was the date that the Sentinel Spartan Football Team won state football, but I am getting ahead of myself.  For the majority of the school, except the football team, it was a day trip that was worth the frigid five-hour drive.  It was a day when the majority of the school was not at school and every teacher understood why.  The 2020-2021 Sentinel Spartan Football Team was about to make history and achieve what few Sentinel Football Teams in the past have accomplished, for it was the title of State Champions.

When fans were arriving in Billings, they realized almost immediately that they did not bring enough layers for the frigid late November weather.  It was so cold that masks were actually appreciated for the pocket of warmth around your face the piece provided.  Fans from every school, cheerleaders, and dance team members quickly realized that the best way to keep warm was getting a little bit rowdy, R-O-W-D-Y.  The kickoff couldn’t have come fast enough in this reporter’s opinion.

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Kickoff was finally upon us and the energy was unmatched from both sides of the field.  For the majority of a Spartan offensive third down, Billings West would play this horrid bell sound that was not intimidating per se, but it was quite annoying and repetitive.  As the game went on, the bell started to diminish to none, for that was the first sign that this game was Sentinel’s.  This game started different than a lot of the other games, for it wasn’t a first-quarter blowout, in Sentinel’s favor, so it had some worried.  As the game went on, it started to look more like the home games fans remembered.  Sentinel was far ahead and no one even had a doubt that we were the State Champions.  After the traditional “We Love Our Spartans” cheer put on by the Varsity Cheerleading Team, the fans and players ran onto the field and celebrated their first State Championship win in many years.  It was a well-played game by both Billings West and the Sentinel Spartans, but the rematch day was just around the corner and there was no promised winner.

Fast forward to the present.  Both teams have lost their 2021 senior class and no one knows how much of an impact each team took with that loss.  The Spartans finally have the home-field (like) advantage in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, for the MCPS field wouldn’t give the game the justice it deserved.  Last year for the State Championship Game both teams were undefeated, so the home-field advantage was determined by a coin toss, but obviously this year it was given to the best football team in the state.  In this reporter’s opinion, the student section for the State Championship Game did not deliver, but this year’s student section went all out with the Hawaiian theme and everything.  Unlike last year, we got two amazing performances from the Varsity Cheerleading Team and the Sentinel Dance Team.  Before kick-off even happened, one could see the subtle normalcy and slow recovery from last year’s craziness. 

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The kick-off was moments away and every fan, both sides, were on their toes.  Usually, in the first couple plays from the offense, one can tell who is going to win and whose offense has a lesser chance of winning, but this game was so close the majority of the game that no one could tell who was and was not going to win.  At one point in the game, Billings West was ahead, but the Student Section, Spartan Cheerleaders, and Sentinel Pep Band refused to lose their spirits.  In the fourth quarter, there was an interception from the Spartan Defense and it was game over, for the State Champions held their title.  Like the original game, the cheerleaders finished with the traditional “We Love Our Spartans” cheer, and everyone fanned onto the field to celebrate the win.  Looking back, you can see how much progression has been formed through this rough pandemic era.  We now have a vaccine that allows us the opportunity to have a student section, perform on the field, and overall have a normal-ish school year.  As for this season, regarding the Sentinel Football Team, it will be a promising one. Speaking from a Spartan fan perspective, on the other hand, I am really looking forward to seeing what the 2021-2022 team has to offer.

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