The Akins Eagles football team finally broke the 26-game losing streak at their game against Cedar Creek High School on Sept 5th, That victory excited the school and football team, inspiring the Eagles to wonder what’s possible this year.
Running back Dylan Cagle has been recognized for his outstanding performance, earning nominations for the Austin American-Statesman Player of the Week, Chevy Player of the Week, and KVUE Athlete of the Week awards.
When asked how he felt after being awarded three awards Cagel said “It feels like a huge blessing. It’s been amazing to finally get Akins some real recognition, and to have the team behind me with the support that they’ve given me. It’s the only reason why I’ve gotten it.”
Cagel also shared his thoughts on how winning has a psychological effect on the team.
“We’re not so negative in the locker room, and definitely, like, catching the wins was making us work harder because we realize it is possible and that Akins isn’t gonna lose forever,” he said.
When the Eagle’s Eye asked what the team needs to work on, Eloy Espresion, a team captain responded saying “The team needs to work on leadership, communication and taking accountability.”
When asked about the psychological effects on them from winning Espresion said “It’s given us the feeling of what winning is like and that will only make us wanna win more.”
He also shared his thoughts on what he believes is different about this year’s varsity team compared to last year’s team.
“A lot more kids are coachable and listen to the coaches,” he said. “The kids last year did whatever they wanted, even though they were great football players they didn’t know what they were doing.”
Head football coach Joey Saxe was asked the same question.
“Yeah, you know, offensively, we’ve adopted a new system that, anytime you adopt, a new offensive or defensive scheme, it takes a little bit of time to install, and, they’ve had, two years in that system to really work with it. So you’re really starting to see, you know, the fruition of that, where they’re putting a lot of points on the board.”
Coach Saxe was asked if he believed there to be anything the team could improve on and he responded “I think a lot of it is just, continuing to build on the culture that we’re trying to create here. It’s the way they treat each other, both on and off the field, really trying to create that sense of fellowship and brotherhood and just caring for each other, not just on the field, but off the field.”
Saxe also shares “Our kids come from so many different walks of life that I really want to make sure that football is a consistent and a positive for them, where they get excited to come they get excited to show up, they get excited to be around their teammates”
Saxe shared some words of encouragement for his team.
“You guys have been putting in so much hard work. You know, from the off-season to summer to fall camp, everything that you’ve done has gotten you guys to this moment. So, continue to build off of that each day. In practice, bring your teammates with you, and this season is very very special because you guys made it that way.”
Akins still has many district games left in the season to play, such as Austin High, Bowie, Lake Travis, and Del Valle.
