As noted in the last post of images from NYC, I was stateside for the month of October, splitting time between the Empire State, and the Buckeye State, aka Ohio, where I generally claim to be from. I typically only visit in December, but this year in the fall afforded me the opportunity to check out a football game at my former alma mater, which I graduated from longer ago than it really seems. A few friends of mine, who played right next to me in our time, are now the coaches, so I thought I would ask to come make a few photographs of the lead up to the final game of the season with their sworn rivals from the other side of the county. It was interesting to me being back in this world of American high school sports, as this concept basically doesn’t exist in Asia, where I have spent more than half of my years since leaving. Below are a few images of the team and the school preparing for and playing on the last Friday night of the season, which was a pretty well hyped and watched match-up.

At the pep rally, the senior football players were blindfolded, and led to believe they would share a licorice rope, and upon completion, a kiss, with some of the pretty girls of the school. But they were surprised to be face to face with their mothers when the blindfolds were removed. Pretty funny I thought, though potentially embarrassing as hell for a seventeen year old boy in front of the whole school.

I can remember well, these times of quiet concentration in the locker room, with heavy metal blasting, trying to prepare yourself mentally for the game.

Coach V was also a coach I played under a number of years ago, though I won’t specify how many for both our sakes.

The coach gives some final motivational words before he field is taken, and the game begins.

Though a very hard-fought game on both sides of the ball, in the end, the Astros fell to the Falcons 7-21.

A few more images are found in the archived gallery.