During the middle of their season, the North Harford varsity football team stands with a 3-3 record, following their most recent game, when they faced a tough loss against Edgewood.

     According to countysportszone.com, NH will face Aberdeen on Oct. 15 at the Hawks Nest, Harford Tech on Oct. 22 at Cobra stadium, and to end the season, the Hawks will face rival, Fallston High School, on Oct. 29, at the Cougars Den. 

     Thus far, the Hawks have faced Perryville, winning 14-6, C. Milton Wright, winning 23-15, Bel Air, losing 6-28, Elkton, losing 16-30, Edgewood, losing 0-44, and winning against Havre de Grace by forfeit. 

     Senior wide receiver, Dillon Battaglia, said, “The games have been fun to play and be alongside all of my other teammates. Some of the hardships and adversity has brought us closer together.” 

     The Hawks homecoming game was originally scheduled for Oct. 8, but due to COVID protocols, when one athlete on the Havre de Grace football team contracted the illness, the majority of the  team was quarantined. This meant that the game could no longer take place and the Aberdeen game is now considered both the Homecoming game and Senior Night on Oct. 15.

     For senior running back and linebacker Tristan Devoe, “I’m excited to play against Aberdeen because it will be my and a lot of my other teammates’ last game at the Hawks Nest.”

     In response to the cancellation, the players organized a scrimmage against their own teammates green versus white. This included dividing up players from both the varsity and JV teams and placing them on either a green or white team. They invited students to still come and support on Oct. 7.  To end the game the green team took the victory, 20-18.

     “There are a couple tough games coming up but if we work hard we can win them. I’m not entirely sure what our postseason holds for us, but I am excited for the ride,” Devoe added. 

     According to Battaglia, “After any sort of tough game, we all come together and bond over it. It brings us together forcing us to want to work even harder to ensure we come out stronger in the next game. Especially with injury, [the injuries] have taken down some of our teammates, and we just have to wait for them to heal, but in the meantime, bring the next man up to fill their spot.”

     According to Devoe, “Someone that really stands out to me is Lukas Smithson aka “Pimp”. He is only a freshman and his kicks have just kept getting better and better and he has become a team favorite.”

     To prepare for games, during practice the team, “We start by doing cardio first to help us build our endurance, then we go into position groups, then into a whole team practice. It helps us at first getting better in our own positions and learning our spot as well as we can, then we go into a whole team practice where we can apply what we learned and help each other improve,” Battaglia stated. 

     As a team, the football team decided to give their jersey to a teacher to wear before their game. This was for a teacher that they appreciated and that has helped them off the field. 

     Devoe decided to give his jersey to Mr. McCormick. Devoe stated, “He’s genuinely one of my favorite teachers I’ve ever had. Mr. McCormick is such a fun teacher and I really enjoyed his class.”

     Battaglia said that he, “Gave [his] jersey to Mrs. Chandler. She was one of my favorite teachers and has helped me a lot throughout the years, so it just felt right that I would give her my jersey.”