As the Jaguars’ season came to an end on Friday, Nov. 4, they gave up a regionals championship title to the Shawnee Heights High School Thunderbirds.

The game ended with a score of 15-7, Thunderbirds.

With 0:56 remaining in the game, the Jaguars had the ball at the Shawnee Heights 48 yard line on third down and a chance to tie the game. The following play resulted in an incomplete pass from junior quarterback Skyler Windmiller to junior running back Staton Rebeck. On fourth down, another incomplete pass ended the game and the Jaguars’ season.

“I think it was obviously sad that it had to end, but I think it ended in a good way,” Windmiller said. “We have come a long way since last year and we have ways to improve for next year.”

Sophomore linebacker T.J. Phillips agrees with Windmiller.

“I thought it was pretty successful but we wanted to go further in the playoffs,” Phillips said. “I thought the defense played well, but our offense didn’t play as well as they should have.

The improvement from last year to this year was the biggest thing junior center Knute Holden noticed.

“I thought the season went pretty well,” Holden said. “We got better and that’s the best we can ask for.”

Junior strong safety Jake Theis looks at the season in the same light.

“The season didn’t end the way we wanted, but we got better every day,” Theis said.

Junior linebacker Blake Miles shares Holden’s positive outlook.

“The season went great and it was a lot of fun,” Miles said. “We worked hard and it paid off. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but we definitely have improved from last season.”

Looking back on the last game, junior running back Kendall Short is sad to see the seniors go.

“I feel bad for the seniors because we couldn’t end their high school careers like they wanted,” Short said. “I will miss them. They made me a better person and athlete by pushing me to be my best.”

Senior safety Justice Oehlert feels a sense of loss that the season has come to an end.

“It was depressing knowing that I will never get to play in the high school program again,” Oehlert said. “I will not have the same team bonding that I’ve had for the last four years.”

Another senior leaving the team is defensive tackle Zach Callahan, who feels the same way after his last year.

“The season went great but at the end we put a lot more work in than the results show,” Callahan said. “The team this year was probably the closest it’s ever been in the history of the football team.”