They all walked into the locker room with one common goal. Leading is having a vision and getting the opportunity to share it with others. They spent years dedicating themselves to the program and it paid off. They had been selected as the captains of the team. As they looked at their team, they only had one thought on their mind: Going to state.

The football team voted on their team captains on Aug. 27. Six senior captains were voted for this season: Drew Nelson, Spencer Jones, Reese Watson, Joseph Hauck, Davis Beal and Matthew Sanders.

“Their job is to run the team,” head coach Drew Sanders said. “When things need to be picked up in the locker room after the game, when something needs to be addressed when we aren’t practicing well, they pick the uniforms that we wear on Friday nights, they pick the flag bearer who runs out, I lean on them heavily for leadership of the team.”

Being a captain is more than wearing the patch or being the boss. It’s about the passion for the game and leading by example — to have respect and behave properly through anger and sadness.

“I’m trying to lead my team this season to a district championship,” Watson said. “With hard work in every practice, and making sure all my teammates are taking care of themselves.”

The captain position comes with the responsibility of being a leader with or without the pads.

“The significance is that it shows that people look up to you and value you and shows that you are a big part of the team and the program on and off the field,” Jones said. “It is a big honor to be elected captain and I’m very grateful”

A captain must also be the hardest worker while bringing passion and energy to the rest of the team.

“I plan to anchor the defense by making sure everyone is flying around,” Nelson said. “The defense needs to have a lot of energy and have a ton of communication to be the most effective.”

The captains have many responsibilities- Not all have to do with actual football related things.

“I set a goal for myself freshman year to become a captain my senior year,” Sanders said. “I have always wanted to be able to represent and lead my team.”

The team feels they have picked great captains for this season. With a 2-0 start to the season the Vipers will be looking at their captains to lead them the rest of the way.

“Throughout the four years in high school these guys were looked at as leaders before given the captain title,” senior Logan Doggett said. “We always knew we could count on them and they are the perfect guys to lead us to victory.”