This past Thursday was the final practice for 20 seniors on the NAU football team. Many of them played their last football game ever on Saturday, finishing the season on a high note with a win against the Portland State Vikings. These seniors have built some strong bonds and made lasting relationships with the other players on their team.

“The best part about coming to NAU is just the friends that I have met on this team and the friends I was able to play with from high school that came here on the team,” said senior linebacker Reid Worthington. “I played with Matt Estrada in the high school all-star game at Fullerton Community College, and [that’s] just one of the main reasons why I came here.”

Both Worthington and Estrada, a senior safety, have been playing on the defensive side of the ball for the past few seasons at NAU.

“When a team has good cohesiveness, they relish the time together,” said head coach Jerome Souers. “It’s like brothers playing backyard football for the last time. [These are the] things that you will miss the rest of your life.”

One aspect of the game players will surprisingly miss is the preparation and practice time that goes into each week of the season.

“The last practice wasn’t as emotional as I thought it would be, but it was fun,” said senior wide receiver Daiveun Curry-Chapman. “[It was the] last chance to get out here and work with a lot of the guys, and I’m gonna miss it. I’m gonna miss all of them. I’m gonna miss coming out here, putting in work in the Dome, and it’s just been a great experience.”

With so many departing seniors on the team, replacing the senior leadership, which the team relied on heavily throughout the season, will not be a simple task.

“I’m gonna miss it a lot,” said freshman running back Zach Bauman. “Coming in with a senior like Mike Herrick, and then a lot of the seniors on the line, they guide you. Being a true freshman, you’re not really accustomed to the scene of the game, but they guide you through it.”

Even though some wins were difficult to achieve, and losses were not what any of the seniors wanted, they wouldn’t change the past four years and the memories they made together.

Perhaps Estrada summed it up best when asked what he will miss most about NAU football.

“[What] I will miss the most … will be the group of guys that we have here,” Estrada said. “We built a strong relationship with offense and defense. I have a lot of memories here with the guys [and] I won’t forget that. I believe that the memories will always be here. That’s what I will miss the most.”

Although the seniors played their last game on Saturday, they have helped to lay the foundation for the character of next year’s squad by overcoming adversity and playing until the final whistle.