RACINE — It was an in-city football rivalry at Racine's Pritchard Park sports complex Friday night, as the Park Panthers and the Horlick Rebels faced off.
"Everybody's hyped. It's Horlick week. Everybody's just ready to play," Park senior captain Zare Gwinn said at practice leading up to the game.
Park entered the game with an 0-3 record and was navigating a significant transition — a recent forfeited game due to injuries and suspensions, and a head coach who recently stepped down.
While the outcome, a 49-6 victory for Horlick, was not what Park was hoping for, the team came to the matchup with a full roster and a new leader on the sideline: interim head coach Travis Whitt, who was in just his second week on the job.
Despite the season's early turbulence, Whitt said he sees the moment as an opportunity rather than a setback.
"I don't want to call it a new start. We'll just call it the next step," Whitt said.
Gwinn said the team came into the rivalry game with energy and confidence, regardless of how others may view them.
"I feel like we're going to be counted as an underdog this game. I don't think people should do that," Gwinn said.
Fellow senior captain Cameron Doe said the rivalry carries deep meaning for the program.
"It means everything here," Doe said.
Doe also noted that the team's difficult stretch earlier in the season is behind them.
"This week, everyone's back," Doe said.
And with the full roster in place, Doe said the team's mindset has shifted.
"It's at an all time high," Doe said.
For Whitt, Friday's game was a chance to show the community what Racine players are capable of.
"It's a really great opportunity to show our community that our boys are playing great football," Whitt said.
But beyond the game itself, Whitt said he also sees stepping into his new role as a chance to further support his players.
"Any opportunity to kind of put my arm around the boys and make sure that we can compete and give them the opportunity to play as much football as humanly possible, I'm here to do that," Whitt said.
As this season continues, he hopes to do exactly that, while also building skills that these players will carry beyond the fall.
"The football is important, but at the same time, things like perseverance, and being tough, and positive, those are really are the goal," Whitt said.
While Friday's result didn't reflect the heart the Park team carried into the game, for Whitt, the outcome on the scoreboard is secondary.
"It's really about love, and a love for the game, a love for each other, and a love for competition," Whitt said.
It's a sentiment Doe carried with him well before Friday's loss.
"Even when the scoreboard doesn't go the way we want, we're still, we're still fighting," Doe said at Wednesday's practice.
Whitt said that fighting spirit is exactly what he hopes his players take with them long after their playing days are over.
"We want to make them better football players, yes, but we also want to make them better people," Whitt said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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