For the football team, the 2009 season not only met but surpassed high expectations. With Joe Allen taking over as a promising new head coach and talented younger players coming in to replace outgoing seniors, both team members and fans hoped the season would go well. However, it didn’t only go well, it went incredibly well.

With a 7-3 record, last season was the football team’s best season since 2004, and it held the record for the longest winning streak since 1994.

Both the leadership of Allen, dedicated players and a new, tougher practice regime helped propel the football team to early success on the field.

“We began the season strong because of our off season conditioning,” Allen said. “We felt that we had a number of weapons that we could utilize during the season.”

Although the first seven games of last season resulted in CHS victories, including a 42-7 win over Richard Montgomery, the team was unable to make the playoffs due to three unexpected losses during the final games of the season.

CHS lost 17-0 to Sherwood, 20-13 to BCC and a close 28-24 to Whitman in the last three games.
However, despite the setbacks at the end of the season, the members of the CHS football team remained optimistic when considering the possibilities of this oncoming season.

“We had a great year,” former captain and ‘10 alumnus Alex Kantor said.  “I wish we made the playoffs and hopefully next year’s team can accomplish that goal.”
Other graduating seniors that will be missed from the team this year include Ryan Quinn, Matt Risk, Brett Switzer and Brandon Swepson.
So what is expected of the current football team? Hopes are once again high for this year’s team to make playoffs, especially considering last season’s encouraging record.
Junior varsity’s record of 8-1 also promises that talented sophomores, such as Lansana Keita, will make a great addition to this year’s varsity team.
According to Allen, the focus will also be put on the team’s strong offensive line and defense.
Despite the changes in both management and valuable players over the past year, one thing remains certain: CHS varsity football has everything it takes to make it to the playoffs this year, so stay tuned.