The Oswego Panthers took on the Oswego East Wolves for the Crosstown Classic. The Panthers had a 12-0 record and are fighting for a 13th win. Oswego hosted the Wolves, at Ken Pickerill Stadium. I caught up with a few coaches, players, and alumni, and see what they had to say, before and after the game.
Nathan Ricken, starting linebacker for the Oswego Panthers, stated a few of his opinions on the game. Friday morning, we interviewed Nathan asking him how he felt going into the game, “We are a very confident team we just feel like, we have a saying, if it’s not broke don’t fix it. So we just feel like we’re going to do everything that we’ve been doing the past couple years and just go in there and get a dub.” Ricken also gave his input on the outcome of the game, “Final score well I feel like we’re going to win but I feel like it’s going to be very close game so I’ll say 17-7, us.” So, going into the game, Ricken was pretty confident with coming out with a win.
I also caught up with, assistant coach, and former football player for Oswego, Sean Staffeldt, who won a state championship with the Panthers in 2003. Coach Staffeldt said the outlook of the game was, “It really doesn’t matter how the match up looks because of all the emotion wrapped into this game. If I had to say we match up better just because our guys I believe are better coached, and our players are put in a position to succeed.” Confidence seemed to be a trend with both the coaches and the players on Friday night. Staffeldt was also a former football player at OHS, but is now a coach for the football team. We asked him about the atmosphere while coaching, and he said, “It is absolutely amazing. Being a former player here, and playing in front of crowds like that back then, to now coaching in that environment is so fun.”
Carter Turnquist, also a football alumni, and coach here at OHS, and talked about his past experience on playing during crosstown, “When I played in the crosstown game, it was like no other feeling. The adrenaline rush was surreal and to this day I can remember everything about it. I was so thankful to have a great group of teammates that we came together and won that game big. If I could go back and relive that part of my past I would in a heartbeat.” He also told us his view on the game now, as a coach, and said “ Being a coach and watching the games from a different perspective is interesting. I want to go out there every time and play but I know that time has come and gone. To watch it and to see the kind of talent that both teams have is great but it is so tempting to want to go out there myself. Overall both teams keep improving over the years which is great to see as a spectator now.”
Oswego came out with a big win over Oswego East, 13-0. The Panthers streak still lives on as they are 13-0 against the Wolves.
Student Publication of Oswego High School, Oswego, IL
