For several years McLean was the laughing stock of Fairfax county because of the losing streak following the varsity football team. This year was different though; McLean stepped up to the competition and showed other schools what the Highlanders are really about. 

“I always went to the varsity football home games and the fact that our team always lost was definitely not a good feeling. It really caused the school spirit to go down and I didn’t get as hype for the games as I wanted to,” said sophomore Aziza Abdelatley  “I noticed that the student section got smaller and smaller as the games went on because we never won,”  

With the obvious growth of the team since last year, students are now excited and have a newborn sense of pride when it comes to McLean football. The students of McLean aren’t the only ones who are happy with the teams success this season. 

“I am [happy], obviously you don’t want to be content or complacent. I think that the sky’s the limit, as cliche as it sounds, with this group of guys. They are a good football team and we’ve had some games where we have really shown that and we’ve had some games where we haven’t shown that,” said John Scholla, coach of the varsity football team.

The team’s hard work has paid off so far this season with a 4-3 record that has surprised everyone in the region. Compared to the 21 game losing streak stretching over many seasons, this year’s 4-3 record is a vast improvement. 

“We are 4-3 right now and no one in the region expected us to be 4-3 and honestly no one in this school expected us to be 4-3 except for the players and the coaches in the locker room because those are the ones there every single day doing the work in the offseason when there are no people in the stands to see it,” Scholla said.