The RHS football team has jumped off to a quick 6-3 start this season. While winning the first three games, all within one touchdown, they have had two blowout wins and three losses.

“I’m very happy with how far we have come so far. It seems as if we are playing our best ball at the right time. We are building momentum going into districts,” senior Jeremy Williams said.

The team this year has seen a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball.

“We have all worked very well together. Most of us are seniors and have grown up together, so we know what are roles our on the team,” senior Jonny Canhos said.

After 9 games the new guys have gotten rid of the butterflies and have become valuable parts of the team.

“I feel like the sophomores and the juniors have played well this year. They have made the adjustment to the varsity level and put themselves in a position to make a play every snap. The nervousness is gone and it’s just about playing football now,” Williams said.

The team started 4-0 and suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Lebanon who was also undefeated; some thought the loss could set the bulldogs back.

“I believe the loss to Lebanon was a secret blessing. It showed we can’t win games with mental errors and penalties,” Canhos said.

After the loss to Lebanon, the team responded with a win over juggernaut Joplin, and then took Dorial Green and Hillcrest for the homecoming game and handled them with ease with a 38-17 victory.

“Our team confidence has taken a big boost with the win over Hillcrest. We came out and played smash mouth football for four quarters. We got in the passing lanes and shut Green and the other receivers down,” Williams said.

After so many seniors graduated last year the expectations in the eyes of the fans might have been set lower than they were last year: not for the players.

“I believe we have over achieved in the eyes of the fans, but in the eyes of the players we know that we can still do better,” Canhos said.

With more tough opponents in their near future, the boys still feel confident that there are more wins headed their way.

“I feel that the way we have been playing, we can go as far as we want to. We just need to play mistake free football and dominate districts,” Williams said.