How The Legacy Lightning Football Team Memorialized Their Strikingly Great Season
Bianca Javate - Blog Writer
Image submitted by Ashley Madden
The last week of October 2023 couldn’t have been better for Legacy High School’s football team. As they wrapped up their final game of the regular season, they clinched a back-to-back league championship with a convincing 35-8 victory against the Brighton Bulldogs. “It means a lot because my sophomore year, the senior [night] sophomore year, we blew the league championship in the last regular season game of the year. These last two years that we’ve gotten it means a lot to us,” said Sawyer Repphun, a lineman who was named as a notable offensive player for that week, in a post game interview. Sawyer was also one of the 18 seniors on the team who was recognized during the annual senior night celebration, which took place right before the kickoff.
The seniors’ family, friends, and loved ones were all gathered at the Five Star Stadium to show their appreciation for the boys. It was extra special for the team’s head coach, Coach Jay Madden, as he was there not just to honor his players, but also his son Tyler who was a wide receiver on the team. After 30 seasons of coaching and attending countless senior nights, it was now time for Coach Jay to celebrate with his own son. The Madden family’s night would later be made more memorable as Tyler achieved a school record and became the first in the program’s history to “throw, run and catch a TD in the same game.”
Moments like these, senior nights with their families and championship-winning feats to culminate their high school playing career, are ones that the players would never forget. No matter where they go and what they eventually do moving forward, they would carry with them the happy and carefree memories that they shared under the Friday night lights.
To help the entire Legacy Lightning football team remember their 2023/2024 season—a successful one that saw them beat a formidable Eaglecrest squad—members of their booster club wanted something tangible for the players, especially the seniors, as a lot of the booster club had graduating sons in the team. They wanted a keepsake that would give an overview of the year, highlights from each game week, a behind the scenes look at the team’s bonding sessions, and full-page features for each senior. They also wanted to collect personal messages from each senior’s loved one that would be printed for the players to see and have them serve as a constant reminder of the support that they are getting.
As they worked to turn their idea into a reality, they enlisted the services of Story of the Season. We created a personalized yearbook, available in both digital and physical format, that contained everything that the booster club members wanted in their media memorabilia. Each week of the season, a digital magazine was published recapping the previous week's game and previewing the upcoming game. The pages were made interactive in the digital version of the yearbook’s weekly chapters, and this was done through clickable external links and video interviews featuring the players. All of the content within the digital magazine was then converted into a print yearbook. Story of the Season also added the entire roster as well as the coaching staff that guided the team so that the digital magazines doubled as a media guide.
Businesses that have been ardent supporters of the team were also able to contribute and show their support through paid advertisements that appeared in the yearbook. In return for the sponsorship that they gave, their appearance also served as a way for them to gain further promotion and engagement within the community.
Through this project, the booster club members were able to achieve their goal of creating something that would commemorate the team’s winning season and their seniors. Aside from that, they were also able to raise $14,400 through the sponsorships that their initiative received. Due to their partnership’s success, Legacy Football will be back with Story of the Season in 2024 to continue capturing special moments on and off the field.
Indeed, senior seasons are truly magical, and Story of the Season is glad to have played a role in ensuring that the Legacy Lightning football team could remember and relive their 2023 season forever. But their team shouldn’t be the only one experiencing this; all high school athletes should be able to! If your team is thinking of doing something special for your seniors or if you are looking for a unique and innovative way to raise funds for your sports program, then look no further because Story of the Season has got you covered. Click here to commemorate your seniors and raise more for your program!
