As the sun dipped and the marching band struck, the stadium buzzed with intensity from mountains of paint-splattered students. Despite the team’s rough record over the last few years, the opening game drew an electric crowd that roared its delight as their football team streamed out onto the field.
“All we can do is give 100% effort the entire game,” junior safety Finn Thompson said. “If we want to win we are going to have to execute what we have been working on all week.”
McLean opened with a squib kick that gave Chantilly strong field position. Within just four plays, Chantilly pushed downfield and scored, putting the Highlanders on their heels early on in the game.
“We had a really slow start to the game,” senior wide receiver and cornerback Malcolm Andrews said. “We did not start the game where we should’ve, and it showed when we were down.”
After McLean’s offense stalled, Chantilly made another quick drive. The Highlanders tried to regain momentum, but less than ten minutes in, the game was brought to a screeching halt as McLean’s right guard Arion Koshy was tackled to the ground and didn’t get up.
The medical team was called and examined Koshy’s left arm. Several minutes later, an ambulance arrived and Koshy was carted off the field with his arm in a splint. It was confirmed later that he had suffered a broken arm. He plans to go through surgery for his arm on Monday, Sept. 1 and will likely be out for the rest of the season.
As play resumed, McLean allowed Chantilly to capitalize and kick a field goal making the score 0-10. With 40 seconds left in the first quarter, McLean fought for a first down just short of midfield, showing resilience despite trailing.
McLean continued to struggle as Chantilly scored their second touchdown, igniting the crowd into quiet panic—the odds for McLean were not looking good. The teams were at a deadlock, neither wanting the other to get the upper hand as the time ticked down in the second quarter with McLean down 17-0.
The student section stayed lively throughout the game, waving energetically and throwing their voices behind the team. When halftime was announced, McLean’s marching band took the field and began the awaited show. Hundreds of students moved in complex formations as they played their instruments and the colorguard twirled sapphire-blue flags to the tempo.
“At halftime, [our] coach came in and gave us a speech about how we were still in the game,” Andrews said. “We made a lot of little mistakes, like penalties that we could’ve avoided. If we avoid those, we would have a much closer game. “
The halftime show brought a revival in McLean’s spirit. The drought was broken when sophomore wide receiver Maximus Lofti weaved past Chantilly’s defense and scored a 50-yard receiving touchdown, bringing the score up to 7-17.
Chantilly kept the pressure on, but McLean managed small gains in the second half. Their mounting pressure and panic was extinguished. The crowd roared louder than ever as McLean’s hopes of winning were lifted.
Despite both team’s relentless persistence after the touchdown, neither were able to make significant gains. The third quarter concluded with exhausted players sidling over to join their team huddles as the scoreboard still flashed a resolute 7-17.
In the fourth and final quarter, Lotfi scored yet another touchdown, catching the ball with the tips of his fingers at the edge of the end zone and making the score 14-17. Highlanders from all around were throwing fists into the air; for now McLean had a fighting chance.
The initial optimism died away as both teams continued battling back and forth to no avail. McLean fell just short of a victory, ending their first game in heartbreak. Yet, the fight shown in the last quarter gave fans a reason to hope for the season ahead.
“We were in there,” Andrews said, “but we just couldn’t pull through in the end.”
McLean is set to play Washington-Liberty High School on Sept. 5, hoping to avenge the heartbreaking loss and prevent starting in a 0-2 hole.
“We need to bring the intensity to them and fire out of the gates faster,” senior cornerback Owen Rasmussen said. “We need to be the hammer, not the nail.”
