Few bonds can be compared to the one that the DV senior football players share.

“We click when we are together,” said Tanner Jones

This year’s team consisted of just five seniors. Four of the five boys have been playing together for six years.

Not only do the boys share a close bond, but also the relationship they share with their head coach is just as close.

“We have more of a brotherly bond,” said head coach Jason Jund. “My job is to push them mentally and physically.” Jund says that he will miss the “everyday activity” with the boys, not just the game time.

As tradition, on the day of the final home game, Jund took his senior players out to dinner. They got a private room and shared memories and talked about what they will miss.

“I write them a message and tell them what I will miss the most about them,” said Jund.

This dinner is a chance for the coach and his players to relax and have some time together away from football.

“He has been a great coach and I am going to miss him and how much he has helped us,” said Jones about Jund.

Each one of the players had something unique that they were going to miss the most about football.

“Football is the most team-oriented sport I participate in. I am going to miss having to do everything as a team,” said Mitch Huber.

This was Huber’s first year of football.

I wanted to go out for football so I knew what it was like and I didn’t regret not going out,” said Huber.

The seniors on the team play a big role in its success and function.

“The seniors are an example for the team,” said Jund.

Some duties of the seniors include making sure everyone gets to practice on time, making sure everything is kept clean, and keeping everyone on task.

“Most of the seniors are captains as well,” said Jund

Along with Coach Jund, parents are a major influence on the players.

Kyle Jaeger’s mother, Mary Jaeger, said, “My job as a football mom is to be there for him in good and bad times and of course, get grass stains out of his clothes.”

Mary Jaeger believes that football has taught Kyle that there is no “I” in “team” and appreciation for the human body.

Football has taught each senior something different. It taught them something that they will keep with them for the rest of their lives.

“It has definitely made my work ethic stronger and I have more determination,” said Kyle Jaeger.

Once the seniors are gone, new openings are created for younger players to move up.

“You may not be playing now, but you will eventually make a big difference to the team,” was Jaeger’s message to underclassmen.

Towards the end of the season, Coach Jund began bringing in the 8th grade team to start practicing with the high school. This helps him to evaluate the skills he will be working with next season.

“It’s always hard to replace the guys that you can rely on,” said Jund.

After ten years of coaching, Jund says it’s still hard to see the seniors go.

Every player had a memory that they will never forget. Big or small they have great significance in their hearts.

“Freshman year, on my very first varsity football play, I recovered my first fumble,” said Alex Schwartz.

As they head off to college to begin their new lives, these young men will always have one common bond. Besides the love and admiration they have for each other, they will always have their memories, memories of joy and pain, wins and losses, and the time they shared together on and off the field. They will always have the knowledge they gained along the way.

There will always be a spot in these boys’ hearts for the Panthers football team. In turn, the team will always have a spot in its heart for them.