HIGH SCHOOL SPRING FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF

NORMAL, Ill.- It has been around 16 months since Illinois high schools last played football.
Two inner-city rivals met Friday night at Hancock Stadium. Normal Community played Normal West in a rivalry game. Normal Community came out on top 14-0. Players and coaches have been waiting months for football to be back. It was an emotional night full of excitement.
“The biggest thing was just being out here and getting to play.” said Normal Community head coach Jason Drengwitz. “It was emotional before the game for me, our players, just because we haven’t been out here doing that. We’ve been dealing with everything else.”
Playing football in the spring is new territory for high schools. It has been a learning process for both athletes and coaches, coaching in a pandemic.
“It’s different, you know it’s unique. The weather is flipped.” said Drengwitz. “It still feels like football. I mean this feels like playoff weather, it’s just a different time of year.”
In a year with a pandemic, coaches and staff are just thankful for the opportunity to go out and play.
“We’ve loved it. We’ve embraced it. Our kids have done a great job, our coaching staff has been outstanding, our school has given us great support and it’s just a blessing to play in the spring” said Drengwitz.