Friday night lights are officially back. Fans showed up to see the Abraham Lincoln football team start their 2024 season with a 52-14 win against Sioux City West on Aug. 30. Head coach Peter Kilburg is proud of how the team played Friday night and how they’ve progressed through summer sessions. He is hopeful for a great season.
“The coaching staff and I are very excited to see our kids in action this year,” said Kilburg. “We felt like we had one of the strongest summer’s in recent years in terms of strength training and practicing. Schematically, we are further ahead than we were last year. All things considered, it helps when you have close to 15 returning starters and a heavy senior and junior class to lead the team.”
Senior wide receiver and linebacker Isaiah Lusajo loves the energy that the team brings before hitting the field but also finds it important to have a clear mindset.
“A big misconception is that all football players come out of the locker room fully energized and rowdy, but most of the players who have large roles on the team try to find a good mental space to perform,” said Lusajo. “The point in time when I get in that headspace is about 10 minutes left before kickoff, the team comes together, I lead a quick prayer, and we get ready to leave the locker room and run out onto the field.”
Kilburg is excited to face AL’s hometown rivals, the Thomas Jefferson Jackets.
“The TJ game is always circled on the calendar because of the rivalry aspect,” said Kilburg. “It is always fun to suit up against your cross-town rival and have the entire school and city to play in front of.”
Senior offensive and defensive lineman Nick Keller is excited to see how his last year with the AL team will turn out.
“I’m excited to play TJ because we lost last year and I want to get that back during my senior year,” said Keller. “We all work together and I’m excited to see how this season will turn out.”
Lusajo is grateful that the team has a strong bond and enjoys playing the sport he loves with his friends.
“It might be a bit cliche, but the football team is its own kind of family,” said Lusajo. “When you get so many dedicated athletes in a room together, hours a day for months you learn to really care for the people around you. More than that, most of the seniors have been playing football together since elementary school.”
