On November 20, 2015, five very lucky students got the chance to play at the All-Star football game that took place at Harford Tech.

Seniors Gary Martin, Jeff Mergler, Kyle Keating, Garrett Kapinos, and Brandon Smith had the once in a lifetime chance to play with each other one last time.

Always on the field, practices took place after regular school practice for the boys. Constantly working hard, they made sure to have a little fun at their secondary practices with their new teammates and coaches.

Around week nine of their high school regular season, the boys found out from coach Eugene Liebel that they were selected to play in the All-Star game. Soon after, the boys were traveling to Edgewood for their separate practices, learning new plays and new techniques that they would use on the field. “The practices were easier but more focused towards putting in plays,” said Smith

What they learned at both practices helped them greatly with their regular season.

“We had a week of separate practice at Edgewood. We learned new techniques that we would use and new plays to run with our teammates for the big game,” explained Martin.

“We practiced everyday for about three hours,” said Smith. And, not only did their practice pay off, but the All-Star team crushed their rivals 41-14! All five of the senior Hawks made first team and second team all conference which they are proud to have accomplished their senior year.

“The practices were more about technique but also more on the fun side because we had the opportunity to play with the best players from teams that we had usually played against. It was cool to be able to join a team and play along with some of the best players from around the county,” said Martin.

“It was cool to play with instead of against kids who were the best in the county, it was a great experience to play alongside our typical rivals,” said Keating.

“We practiced here at  school as well as at Edgewood to prepare for the game,” commented Kapinos.

“Even though I couldn’t play because of my injury,  I still went to the game to see the boys play,” Mergler commented.

When Liebel told the boys Smith was actually very surprised at the opportunity. “I was pretty surprised because i didn’t think that I had the best season, but i guess I’m pretty good at blocking,” Smith said humbly.

Though their practices won’t differ much from any normal football practice here at school, they learned many things from the players and coaches they worked with.