The varsity football team watched its season come to a close on Nov. 5 after a first round playoff loss at Magruder 16-0. The season did not go as planned, but the players and coaching staff had a lot of fun with the team despite finishing with a 2-8 on the season. In his second season with the team, head coach Ivan Hicks led a senior-heavy team to an exciting year, and now looks to lead a bright young team going into next year.

After a close loss to out-of-county Catonsville 17-14 on Oct. 22 and a senior night loss to Water Johnson 27-8 on Oct. 29 — which included several starters injured for the Patriots — they went into the first round playoff game at Magruder with a healthy lineup. They were ready to  win Wootton’s first playoff game in over a decade. “We have pushed through a lot of adversity this season and are ready to go out there and play like we have nothing to lose,” senior running back Nathan Jacobs said.

Prior to their Friday playoff game, the football program was involved in an incident in the locker room that forced the team to overcome even more adversity. In short, players were messing around in the locker room and a staff member observed the acts, deeming them necessary to report to school administration. This caused Montgomery Country police to be called by school administration, due to a potential sexual assault. “The police, upon investigation, found no criminal activity, including no evidence of a sexual assault,” principal Kimberly Boldon said in a message to the community.

The team was given the green light to practice beginning on Thursday and prepare for its game on Friday at Magruder once the investigation was finalized. Following a solid practice on Thursday, the team got a good night’s sleep and was ready for the game Friday night. “We were mentally and physically ready to go out and get a win,” Jacobs said. 

To start, both teams came out slow with little offensive momentum from either team. Magruder’s defense was able to keep Wootton on their heels, resulting in a first half safety, putting the Colonels up 2-0 in the first half. For the rest of the half, neither team could get any offense going, leaving Magruder up 2-0 at the half. “Our defense was playing really well but our offense was very stagnant and their defensive line got to our quarterback way too easily,” senior wide receiver Jake Lotenberg said.

The Patriots ran out of gas in the second half as Magruder was able to put up two more touchdowns, giving them a 16-0 victory over the Patriots. This concluded an eventful season for the varsity football team. “We went through a lot as a team this year and although it did not turn out the way we all wanted, I had a lot of fun with the guys and made memories I will remember forever,” Lotenberg said.