The Livingston Wildcats travel to face White County this Thursday in the last game of 2024, head coach Matthan Houser said this is always an emotional week for coaches and players.
The team notched their first region win following a 22-21 win over Cumberland County last week, which improved their record to 4-5. Houser said this last week of practice will look different from their usual preparation.
“It’s tough when the season end,” Houser said. “This week in practice, we will prepare for White County and get ready for that game on Thursday night, but we’ll also have some fun with them. Let them do some competition stuff, have some fun at practice and just kind of really be able to enjoy themselves this last week.”
Livingston Academy has been eliminated from the playoffs, but Houser said there are still some personal and team goals that the Wildcats will look to accomplish. Even tough the Wildcats will not be in the playoffs, Houser said his team’s ability to fight through adversity has been an overwhelming positive.
“We’ve had some unfortunate injuries and things pop up,” Houser said. “We’ve not got as far as we wanted to in the season, in terms of getting to the playoffs. But, I’m really proud of the way these guys have fought all year.”
This season the Wildcats have lost three starters to season ending collarbone injuries and seen most of their starters miss at least one game. Houser said while injuries are just part of the game, he noted a positive that came from them as the team has built up their depth for the future.