Tigers ending their football season

The intense music mixed with the announcer’s voice was drowned out by the drumming on the backs of the bleachers led by members of Tiger Nation, and the garage doors opened as the Cedar Falls Tigers charged toward the 50-yard line waiving their CF flag, a tradition anticipated by every football player and many students, but for the class of 2021, it was all for the last time as their season ended with a tough loss against Ankeny, 37-16 in a playoff game on Oct. 30, ending their season 4-3. 

The Tigers took the lead at half time, 18-14, but then they were overtaken by the Hawks. Senior Ryan Ostrich said, “Going into the second half, I feel like we just really slowed down, and we were less energetic and got outplayed. I feel if we wouldn’t have gone into that second half less than we were before, we would’ve had a better chance.”

Ostrich still said he cherishes the high points of the season. “Honestly, the great people I got to play with. Everyone on the team was always so positive, and it made it way more fun to play the game I love.”

Senior Jayvon Ratleff said his favorite moment was their win against Washington on Oct. 23. “Getting our playoff banner after the win that night, I felt extremely happy.” 

Junior Aiden Sorensen said, “Running out of the garage door for the first time against Dubuque Senior or the first half of the game against Ankeny on Oct. 30” were his favorite memories. He said, “I felt really excited and nervous ’cause I’ve been waiting for that moment for a long time.”

For Senior Jase Seger, his favorite memory was different from the others. “Football practice when the field was really muddy,” he said. “We would just slide around and have fun.” Although he loves the feeling of a win at the end of a game, the memories of his team letting loose and being boys messing around is what he always looked forward to.