The varsity football team kicked off their 2023 season by slamming Tunstall and Martinsville at their first home games under the Friday night lights.

Chatham won both games by a steep margin. CHS vs Tunstall 30-6, CHS vs Martinsville 34-16,  and the student section roared each time CHS scored.

Aidan Hodnett, senior, number 66, was named MVP of the CHS vs MHS game. He scored two touchdowns and a safety. He earned 16 points in just those two games. “I am happy with my performance, and I’m looking forward to what our team will do with more focus and determination,” Hodnett said. 

Several of the football players’ performances really shone.

 “Zander Cornell did really well,” Lacey Mulero, sophomore, said. 

 “Aidan Hodnett and Zander Cornell did great,” Mrs. Riley, devoted football mama and English teacher, said.

 “O’Brien Meyers, Jaden Breedlove, and Zander Cornell really shined through,” Zakyah Mansfield, sophomore, said.

Cheering with the crowd can make people really hungry, and the concession stand was just what they needed to re-fuel.

“The funnel-cake fries were ‘bussin,'” Javion Martin, senior, said. 

“Overall the concession stand was a nine outta 10,” Mulero said.

“The French fries were good,” Riley Melancon, junior varsity player, said.

The varsity cheerleaders have an influential role over the whole experience at home games. Shouting and screaming from the sidelines , the cheerleaders won too. 

“ I think we did really well,” Isabel Wyatt, sophomore varsity cheerleader, said. “I really like our uniforms too.”

Chatham’s student section gives the players and attendees a real sense of what it means to be a Chatham Cavalier.

“The student section was very supportive,” said Wyatt.

“The themes need mixing up,’ said Mulero and Wyatt.

“There was drama in the student section—obnoxious; I got hit in the head by flying trash, but it [the overall experience] was fun,” Mulero said.

The player’s personal opinions of their own team’s performance is really important when gauging what Chatham brings to the table.

“I have a lot of fun practicing, but there are really a lot of mental mistakes the team needs to work on,” Aaron Riley, varsity player, said.

Riley Melancon, (JV player), and Aidan Hodnett, (varsity player),  both agreed that a state ring is what the team is looking forward to for the rest of the season.