The men’s football team finished off their season with a record of 4-5, according to head coach Mike Noll. Noll credits the season through his appreciation for the senior class.

“[The seniors] did what we asked them [to], and that’s probably the most important part about all of this,” Noll said. “I think [that] the society keeps tabs on wins or losses, but there are other things that are just as important, and our seniors have been really good at those other things. They’ve been very good at what I call knowledge leaders in terms of teaching kids the right way to do things, so I’m pleased with that.”

Even though the team faced many losses during the season, the men still continued to work hard, especially on their consistency as a team, according to Noll.

“We’ve come up a little short with our goals on the field and that just comes down to consistency,” Noll said. “Our program is only as good as our work ethic, so that’s a key component that, quite honestly, we have to fix.”

In regards to their toughest competitors this season, Maine South defeated the Titans by three points with a final score of 34-31 on Oct. 2. Owen Boyle, senior tight end, understands why Maine South was victorious.

“Maine South has always been the best in our conference, and nobody has beaten them in over 20 years,” Boyle said. “We ended up losing in overtime. We were so close to beating them, but we just didn’t finish the game. Maine South is just a good football team who can make plays when needed, and they did.”

Similarly, Ryan Janczak, senior running back, acknowledges the defeat and how it affected the team.

“It was definitely not the best feeling to come so close and not be able to finish,” Janczak said. “We knew that we could compete with [Maine South] because [like my] sophomore year, it came down to the wire.”

Their last home game of the season was against New Trier on homecoming weekend,  Oct. 16. The men finished the game with a score of 35-14, according to Noll.

“I feel like it’s okay to lose if you play your best, but we did not play our best,” Noll said. “We had 10 penalties and two turnovers, so it’s hard to win games when you do that.”

In addition, senior quarterback Daniel Jenkins agrees with Noll concerning New Trier’s overall play on the field that night.

“Our defense started off strong, and we weren’t able to get anything going on the ground or passing,” Jenkins said. “It seemed like when our offense was able to get something going, penalties or turnovers killed our drive.”

According to Jenkins, the team was disappointed with the outcome of their last home game. However, they ended the season on a win against Waukegan with a score of 38-21 on Oct. 24.

“Our team came out slow, but [senior wide receiver] Jack Healy’s one handed snag into the end zone really gave our team the burst of energy we needed, and we took care of business from there,” Jenkins said. “[It is] still pretty upsetting that we fell short of the playoffs, but it was a fun year with a lot of great people.”