Friday the 13th will be a joyous occasion for seniors on South’s football team as they are honored prior to the game against Perry Meridian. For the seniors, Friday will be a day to look back on their football careers, from MCYFA to the bright lights of Friday night.

Senior safety Jack Hanchett has played football for 8 years, and will be hanging up the cleats after this season. On his goals for the season, he said “I wanna win on senior night, and I wanna win our sectional.”

Star senior defensive back Phillip King wants to “win the rest of the games,” which would obviously include state.

Cornerback Quantrell Porter is also a key facet of the senior-heavy secondary, and wants to “go as far in the tournament as [the team] can.”

Since they arrived at South, the seniors have had one of the most successful reigns of any class to go through the decorated football program. The group started off their high school careers strong and posted a 7-2 record their freshman year. As sophomores, stars such as Gavin Yeskie and Garrett Hickman were relied on to be effective varsity starters. By junior year, many had found themselves positions as starters and helped lead the Panthers to their second Final Four in three years. Now they find themselves as leaders of the program, looking to finish off the season and their careers by adding a few more trophies to South’s trophy case.

They have a good chance to head into the tournament with a win against Perry Meridian, who is currently 1-7 and in the midst of another rough season. However, Perry Meridian is coming off their first win against Terre Haute North and could carry that energy over to Friday night’s game.

The Panthers will have to shut down their shifty skill players and force QB Brooks Davis into mistakes. On the offensive side of the ball, the big three seniors Gavin Yeskie, Chris Bomba, and Kristian Pechac will all have to get going early and often.