I felt the sweat pour down my arms. The smell of boys' body odor poured into our noses. Feeling the turf underneath the cleats. I could taste victory, and It tasted delicious. Bang! Shoulder pads crashing into each other like what you would hear at a monster truck rally. The referee whistle is blown for the last time in that game. And once I saw the clock move in slow motion. The game was over, we won.

Every game I played since I joined MJHS football we brutally lost. In some games, we lost by 40 points and the reefs just called the game by the third quarter. It was like we were all just giant punching bags. Players were getting rammed like bull to a red flag, getting hurt left and right just 5 minutes later, they threw you back into the game like being sent to Vietnam.

Usually, after the game, you could feel disappointment. In the locker room as we were taking our cleats off, I always felt like I could do better. In addition, Mariemont was such a small school, thus we are lucky to have 15 people. On the other hand, some teams have over 30 players and are twice the size of me, and it felt like I was trying to push a wall that didn’t move.

Since we lost by 30 points each game, as a result, at school it was embarrassing to even wear our Jerseys on Friday. I remember people telling me that there shouldn’t even be a MJHS football team if we lose every game. It felt like our team was the laughing stock of the school.

As I was approaching our last game of the season, I knew it was our last chance to win. It was like the last battle of a losing war, the ambiance hit differently as I walked off the bus. This was our last chance to get a win as MJHS students, it was all or nothing. I wanted to win so badly, I wanted to go home a winner and tell people that we won a game. I wanted to make the impossible possible.

It takes 11 players to make a good play, and everyone has to do their job because if one player messes up, the play is ruined. So everyone was counting on each other to try their hardest and pour their heart and soul into this game. I looked around with sweat in my eyes and was tired and exhausted, but I knew I had to keep going because if I gave up or threw in the towel now, I would regret it for the rest of my life. This was all or nothing.

Every play I was hitting the other team's line, I tried harder and harder. I wanted to quit, but I kept going. There was a voice in my head telling me I can’t do it, I suddenly remembered all the times people told me that MJHS will never win a game, I used that as nothing more than motivation because I wanted to prove them and myself wrong.

Once I heard the sweet sound of the game clock reaching zero, I knew we were victorious. I remembered running towards the side line as the rest of the team followed, and we started celebrating. Even if we just won one small game, it meant the world to us, like we just won a million dollars. Undoubtedly, It was all worth it. We finally won a game after 2 years of losing, we made the impossible possible. 

I will never forget that day, I still remember it like yesterday, I could still feel the terf and the wind all in my mind. Later that night I learned that anything is possible when you put your mind to it, even when the odds are against you. I poured my heart and soul into that game, and I came home a winner.