Watertown High School faced off against Joel Barlow High School on December 9th, in the Class SS Championship, where Barlow edged Watertown to a final score of 21-20. Despite the crushing defeat, the spirit of the Warriors isn’t diminished and the grind of the Warriors had a substantial impact on the Watertown community. For the first time in 37 years, Watertown had made it to the championship.
Through a season filled with ups and downs, the team’s biggest supporters were always the Gridiron Group. The Gridiron is a group of player-parents that allocate funds for the team, and above all, support the team through thick and thin. However, even they had doubts about the team’s future come the end of regular season. Gridiron President Nicole Braddock put it best: “I thought Thanksgiving would be a nice win to close out the season. When we heard we made the playoffs at 5-5, we thought it wasn’t true. A lot of teams needed to win and lose just to secure the 8th spot.”
Despite squeaking into the postseason, the team didn’t come soft. Defeating Granby by two scores and blanking Gilbert-Northwest United. These unexpected wins let out a surge throughout Watertown’s tight-knit community. It had been nearly 40 years since the last appearance in the title game, and 6 years since making the playoffs. Braddock, a long time Watertown resident, puts it bluntly: “This was something that hasn’t been done in decades. There should’ve been more to celebrate this accomplishment; But I think the players and coaches felt so much support during the playoffs and [it] brought a side of the team that wasn’t in the regular season.”
Coming into Rentschler Field, Watertown Varsity Jackets of years past swarmed
the stands, and the student section was the most packed it had ever been. The amount of community support surrounding the team during the postseason was immense, and the Gridiron was at the nucleus of it. “We were consumed with finals, that’s all we could concentrate on because we saw in this team what others didn’t.” said Braddock. “Now that they’ve gotten that far, there’s no way they aren’t working to get back.”
Despite the final score of the championship, this isn’t the end of the Warriors story, the loss has fueled a fire in the team and raised expectations for what the team could be. The vow to return is imminent, and the large upcoming senior class has unfinished business.
