The football team is gearing up for their next home game against Bartlett after a tough loss against Streamwood.

“Right now Bartlett’s record is 1-1. They are going to be a tremendous challenge for us. This game is also a good opportunity to play good football and see who comes up on top for the win,” head coach Ted Monken said.

The football team lost 23-14 at the first home football game on Aug. 26 and lost 28-20 at an away game versus Streamwood on Sept. 2.

“The first home game at Wheaton Academy went pretty much the same as Streamwood. It was a great example of a bunch of guys who fought until the bitter end. I cannot be prouder of the way our players went out on the field and never gave in,” Monken said.

Team captains include seniors Zack Stefan, Alex VanDoran, Justin Ross, and Trey Lalley. The team selected the captains.

“Obviously (when choosing the captains) we were thinking of the player’s leadership abilities, strong work ethic, and how well they play,” Monken said.

According to Monken, the team had opportunities to win in their past games and as the team grows he is expecting to turn those opportunities into wins.

“We are moving in the right direction in terms of winning,” Monken said.

Teammates have noted that they have improved in their practice.

“I think we cleaned a lot of things we have done wrong in the past couple of weeks. We still haven’t finished cleaning it all the way, but I think we will improve as the season goes on,” Stefan said.

The players and coaches share the same desire to get better.

“We try to work hard in the offseason to get better whether if we visit a college or read books or watch training videos just the same way we ask the players in the offseason to get stronger and faster,” Monken said.

With the players and coaches having the same obligations, the team is able to grow together.

“We as coaches feel the same obligation to make sure that everything we teach is as good of teaching methods and every play that we run is as sound as we can possibly be,” Monken said.