Beginning on Monday of last week, the Pleasant Valley football roster, originally 60 players, increased to 65. The five athletes joining the varsity team were George Venzke, Nate Ahlers, Jose Lara, Sam Necker and Brandon Young. What’s special about these sophomore boys is that they were selected to be moved up to the varsity squad for the playoffs. On Friday, each of them were able to experience their first varsity game from the sidelines.
Effort and passion are the reasons why Venzke believes that he was one of the few sophomores selected, and Ahlers agrees that effort was a major deciding factor.Ahlers, an offensive lineman, simply felt blessed to be granted the opportunity to be a part of the varsity team.
Although they’ve had plenty of experience with the sport, playing alongside older athletes was a bit of an awakening. “Everything goes so much faster and there’s an adjustment period to get in the swing of things, but the skill level and difficulty is so much higher than Sophomore [football]… it’s a big change,” explained Venzke.
For the entire week, they practiced with athletes who have played at the highest level for two or three years now. “It was mainly a learning opportunity for us. We now know what it takes to play at the varsity level because we were given an inside and I think this is getting us prepared for the next season,” Lara stated.
The Spartans took the field this past Friday with temperatures in the lower 30s. Lara along with Young were responsible for relaying plays. “It was extremely cold, especially standing on the sidelines, but it was an intense game and I was glad to have been a part of it,” Lara says.
“The playoffs by itself is such a crazy environment but when it’s also rivals going against each other, then it’s just that much more intense,” Venzke added.
Although each of their varsity careers fell short this season, they agree that it has given them a look at what Pleasant Valley football has in store for them next season. Venzke says they were able to learn from the seniors, and he feels the experience has better prepared them for the following two years.
