by Catherine DeLuca
Pilgrims Football team had their annual Teacher Appreciation game on Thursday, October 8th against Moses Brown. Each senior player and cheerleader, selected a teacher that they felt impacted them the most during their high school years. Before kickoff, a ceremony was held to honor the selected teachers. Players walked out with their teachers wearing their jerseys while the crowd applauded and individual pictures were taken.
The Pilgrim student section wore orange to honor the memory of Aiden Saez, who was a student athlete at Toll Gate High School. Aiden sadly passed away in September after battling leukemia. The student section wanted to raise awareness for leukemia as well as show support for Aiden’s family and friends. Senior football Captain Adam El Rhazali (#2) added that, “Aiden was a great person, and the orange theme was a great way to honor him, while simultaneously bringing the whole city of Warwick together to give him the recognition that he deserves.”
With cheers from the excited crowd, the game kicked off. The Patriots had a strong first half with three touchdowns by Zach Bates (#6), Connor Fitzgerald (#4), and Anthony Farhat (#1). Pilgrim made it hard for Moses Brown to keep up, taking a 21-7 lead into halftime. The Patriots maintained their momentum in the third quarter with a touchdown by Christian Mainelli (#24), eventually ending the game with a 34-7 victory, which was a very exciting and needed win for the Patriots.
As for the rest of the season, El Rhazali noted that “The team faces a challenging path to the playoffs, we are currently in 8th place and only 6 teams make the playoffs. In order to guarantee a spot we would have to win out, which is possible but will take the whole team’s efforts.” Beating South Kingston would secure the teams playoff spot, El Rhazali says “its going to be tough but I know this group is capable of doing that and much more.” The team is very optimistic for what’s to come and is just as excited for the upcoming homecoming game as the student body is.
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