Beneath the stadium lights and fueled by an enthusiastic crowd, the varsity football team dominated the Gonkplex turf, securing a 19-7 victory over Nashoba in a thrilling home opener on September 6.
The game marked a long-awaited moment for the community to finally celebrate the completion of the Gonkplex project which has lasted for over a year and includes two turf fields, new pickleball and tennis courts, an amphitheater and more. During its construction, the team played at Westborough High School. Senior football captain Brendan Staunton recognized the positive team mentality around returning to a home field.
“We’re excited to be back on campus,” Staunton said. “We think the new turf is a new era of Algonquin football, and we’re gonna do our best with that.”
Touchdowns by seniors Owen Ellsworth and Jordan Lopez propelled the team to a decisive victory, marking a thrilling start to the season. The turf itself serves as a major advantage for the players.
“It helps with being able to keep the same consistency every day,” Staunton explained. “A lot of the time if it was cold the ground would freeze.”
Furthermore, this enhanced reliability on the new field contributes to their broader commitment to their role within the community.
“Our coach always says the football team is the front porch of the high school,” Staunton said. “A lot of youth athletes will come to the games and look up to us. We definitely take our role seriously in the community.”
Assistant head coach Tyrone Notice holds similar views.
“Our team mentality is excitement,” Notice said. “We are excited to be back. We are mad as in ‘make a difference’, our slogan. We want to make a difference in the school community and around Algonquin.”
The vibrant energy of the new field was supported by the cheerleading team. Aided by new coach, math teacher Catherine Drake, new uniforms and the new field, senior captain Julianna Craver has high hopes for the season.
“I know me and my captains, [juniors] Abby [Keats] and Clarissa [Truman], are really excited for this year,” Craver said. “We’re just hoping to become a stronger team, and just to show a united front to the student body. [We want to] show what it means to be a Titan.”
Many factors contributed to making Gonkplex’s opening night one to remember including a ribbon-cutting ceremony and opening remarks from Principal Sean Bevan.
“It’s a chance to symbolically say this chapter in our school’s development and history is complete and we’re looking forward to watching the fields being used,” Bevan said.
The student body embraced the field’s opening with full enthusiasm, diving into the white-out theme. The robotics club energized the crowd by launching t-shirts into the air, while students tossed baby powder, creating a cloud of white. A banner reading “We Are All Titans” was proudly passed over the student section and senior Max Brown joined in the celebration among his peers.
“My favorite part was the energy in the crowd after we scored a touchdown,” Brown said. “The powder being thrown in the air, the energy; all of it was amazing.”
