On a warm afternoon in October, the Ballantyne Ridge varsity football team was practicing for its upcoming game against South Mecklenburg High School.
The Wolves would go on to lose to South Meck 50-7. In fact, they lost all 10 games this season — and were outscored by a combined 523 to 23.
But here’s the thing: This is the Wolves first season. And they're significantly younger than your average varsity football team. There are no seniors. Freshmen make up two-thirds of the team. Head Coach Chris Redding says most nights, he’s starting 15 or 16 freshmen on offense and defense against teams led by juniors and seniors.
“I’ve essentially said a handful of times: We are the youngest team in America," Redding said.
So, Redding says their focus this season was on something more than just wins and losses. This was a season about not giving up — even in the face of adversity.
“It’s a grit that these young men have on a week-to-week basis," Redding said. "They go out and put their bodies on the line against guys that are much bigger, faster and stronger than them and significantly older than them. But they never hesitate to do it, and they never hesitate to put the next step forward and build the program from the ground up.”
Ballantyne Ridge is Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ newest high school. The school opened this fall with no senior class, and a small junior class — juniors zoned to the new high school had the option to stick with their original school. Redding explained starting with a varsity team would give juniors a chance to play — and jumpstart a culture of Friday Night Lights and high expectations for the future.
“To me it, like, motivates me ... even if it’s not our best game, we look back and we know — that’s going to be us someday," said Banks Jackson, a freshman wide receiver on the team.
His teammate, sophomore right guard Farris Ghannam agrees.
“The improvement is great and we just got to take that improvement every week and keep going," Ghannam said. "Although our record may not show it, we’re improving every week and you know, we’re coming together as a team, as a family.”
Ty’Barious Young is a running back and one of the team’s few juniors. He says playing against high-level teams now won’t wear his younger teammates down, but turn them into a dominant force as they get older.
"It's definitely been tough," Young concedes. "I'm not going to say it was easy because you know, losing is never easy, especially when you want to win ... But just seeing how dedicated they are to the sport, how aggressive they are, it inspires not just me, but I'm pretty sure a lot of other people."
The Wolves' game against the Ardrey Kell Knights on Sept. 28 was noteworthy. Not because they lost by 64 points, but because they scored their first-ever touchdown. And it gave the Wolves a taste of the success they believe they're destined for.
This past Friday, the team had its first-ever homecoming game. The Wolves played against Union County’s Cuthbertson, a team that made it to the playoffs. A couple hundred fans gathered for the Wolves' last regular-season game.
PTSO President Kristen Aquino watched the game with other proud parents by the concession stands — cheering, even as the game started to slip away.
"Especially when you do see the scoreboard, you kind often equate that you would just see some angst and stuff, and that's not what this has been at all," Aquino said. "The parents have been so supportive. The students have come out and had a good time and, we're celebrating every small win. So we celebrated our first field goal. We celebrated our first touchdown. We celebrated our first interception. [It's] all about the small wins and just building us up as a community."
After halftime and a homecoming ceremony, the Wolves took the field trailing by 42 points. Young kids stuck out their hands for high fives as the athletes passed by. Coaches encouraged the team to ignore the scoreboard and to just have fun.
The Wolves lost that game 55-0. But Redding had a message for his team. As much as it hurts now, next year, they could be the team doing the hurting.
He said Cuthbertson was a good example of a team they could grow to become. Some of that will come naturally — as players get older and start getting into the weight room, for instance. Some of it will happen on the field, as the team works to move beyond what Redding calls "flashes of greatness."
He says if he had to describe them in one word, it'd be "resilience."
"Resilience is something that's hard and you don't know you need it until it really hits you in the face," Redding said. "And these guys have been punched in the mouth a lot this year."
