Senior Ryan Thorpe lines up ready for the play to begin. The crowd starts to cheer loudly. His cleats dig into the turf as he gets into position, listening for the quarterback to hike the ball. 

Thorpe played defensive back for the football team all four years of high school. Thorpe’s favorite defensive scheme is the 3-4 defense. During the first game this season Thorpe intercepted the ball against the Grain Valley Eagles.

“Whenever I get an interception, everything starts to come together and it’s a really cool feeling,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe will be on track to have more interceptions in this year’s season than last year’s season. Fellow player Junior Landon Lamb likes how they can hold each other accountable. 

“It’s good having a teammate you can bond with and we know to hold each other accountable,” Lamb said.

Last year, Thorpe led the defense in forced fumbles with four and he recovered three of those fumbles. Teammate, Sophomore, Cade Tucker enjoys Thorpe helping him even when it’s not in games. 

 “I love how he helps me out in drills when he doesn’t have to,” Tucker said. “He is just a really cool guy.”

He also plays baseball for the high school. Thorpe’s favorite athlete is Eric Hosmer. He feels that watching him play baseball motivated him to play sports. 

“My favorite moment of playing football at the high school was beating Grain Valley in my junior year,” Thorpe said.

 The quarterback receives the ball from the center, Thorpe runs back guarding his man, the pass comes and he intercepts it. The crowd roars with excitement and the team celebrates with Thorpe as he comes to the sideline.