On Oct. 11, 2024 the Wildcat football team faced off against the Blue Streaks of Harrisonburg. After a long battle, RCHS came off on top 26-17. This win secured the Wildcats their first win.
Before the game even started players were excited and ready. This was their game to win. Both teams had yet to win a game this season, which increased the tension between the two and the Wildcats were itching to turn up the score.
Sophomore quarterback Eli Watkins “During warmups we were more confident as players and as a team this definitely carried over to the game,”
Right before halftime the Cats were trailing 7-10, with no one open Watkins decided to run the ball himself and get the touchdown for the Cats to bring them up and end up leading the Blue Streaks at half 13-10. Towards the end of the night Watkins does the same play, running it in to make the score 26-17 with 9 minutes left in the game. As the final whistle blew the Cats were overcome with emotions after getting their first win of the season. Watkins had this to say about the game
“It was a great feeling to score those touchdowns and be able to contribute to our win. We were all excited, it was an emotional moment with our seniors after our game and definitely a game I’ll never forget.”
Watkins has been a part of the RCHS football family for 3 years. Starting in 8th grade he played junior varsity and started as the quarterback. Over the summer of 8th grade he put in a lot of work for football, he would go to the field with his dad all the time. He even got to go to Louisiana for a passing camp where he got to meet many college football players, also NFL legend Eli Manning. Once tryouts came around Watkins made Varsity as a freshman which isn’t easy, all of his hard work paid off.
His first year on varsity didn’t go the way he thought it would, he ended up seeing the field very little plus the Cats would end up going 0-10 that season with coming close to winning many games but falling short every time. Even though he didn’t play as much or win games he still looked at the positive part
“This year gave me more experience and made me more confident going into the next season” Watkins said
With only being 1-6 with two games this season Watkins has still been looking at the positive of each season.
“Our season has had its ups and downs but we have grown closer as a team and made of feel more like a family”
This year Watkins has been getting more playing time and showing what he can do on the field when given an opportunity. The Cats are having a similar season like last year coming very close to winning most of their games but always coming up short when the final whistle is blown.
Even though Watkins has led the Cats to score more touchdowns than they did last year he is pretty happy but he says there is still a lot to work on to make his game perfect.
“I need to work on being more accurate with my throws and making decisions quicker when under pressure” Watkins said
Next year the Cats are joining a new division, Watkins stated that he’s ready.
“I’m excited about the new competition, it’s a good fresh start for us and to show other schools what we can do.” said Watkins
