HAW RIVER, N.C. — As we rev up for the second round of the high school football playoffs, one Triad school made history in round one and is looking to keep the momentum going on Friday night.
Before the season began, most people thought a good year for the Stallions from Southeast Alamance would have them finish with a record near the .500 mark. However, for Head Coach Tony Aguilar and his boys, what everyone else thinks, doesn't matter.
"When I first came over here, lots of people said we were going to be trash," Stallions' senior wide receiver/defensive back Tyron Squires said. "They would say you guys not going to do anything this year, and now I can say look at us, we did it. We made it to the second round and hopefully, we make it to the third."
The first-ever football season in the history of Southeast Alamance High School has gone better than anyone could have expected.
"It's been amazing, after Friday we were like everyone is going to remember us forever," junior quarterback, Ryan Dodson said. "Next year, it won't be the same, no more firsts and it's pretty cool to have this record and always be remembered."
After starting the year 1-3, the Stallions went on to win 6 out of their last 7 regular season games. They were earning them a birth in the 2A football state tournament.
"We were just plugging away every week," is how Head Coach Tony Aguilar described his team's journey in their inaugural season. "Our confidence grew as we started that 5-game win streak, and here we are just trying to continue our run through the playoffs."
In Round 1 of the playoffs, Southeast Alamance knocked off Martin County, earning their first playoff win in program history and advancing to Round 2 in the process.
If you ask the boys on the team, it's all thanks to Coach Aguilar.
"Our principal truly blessed us by bringing coach (Aguilar) in. They could have brought in anyone, but they brought us a guy that's been around the game forever. I've never met anyone who cared about the game more. Every day he tells us this is the best feeling ever and I just thank the school for bringing us a coach who knows what he's doing", Dodson went on to say.
Friday, Southeast Alamance takes on Cummings in Round 2 of the 2A State Playoffs. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.