It's safe to say Windsor High School football has a lot going for them.
“Dynamic athletes, guys with confidence, smart players, good quarterback,” senior DJ Sparrow aid. “You know when all that’s together, I feel like we're just unstoppable.”
Behind sophomore quarterback AJ Robinson, the Warriors entered the playoffs as the top seed in Class MM.
His favorite part of his game? The way he throws the ball. That’s his teammate’s favorite part, too.
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“He just need us to run and go get the ball,” Sparrow said. “Every time he throws the ball, I'm just surprised because he's so young, a sophomore. Making throws like he's been here before.”
It’s certainly no easy feat to be two games from a title under the best of circumstances, but Windsor has battled the usual: injuries and an early season loss.
“We needed to be more of a team,” Robinson said. “Stop playing individually and after we did that, we won every single one.”
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But Windsor’s circumstances have been far from ideal; they’ve been unimaginable.
Over the summer, longtime assistant coach Clifford Knight Jr. passed away unexpectedly. This October, sophomore Elijah-Jay Mariano Rivera died after collapsing at practice.
“We always talk about how we have something to play for, Coach Knight and Eli,” Robinson said.
In a season unlike any other, the support for Windsor has been unlike any other, too.
“Man, I love y'all boys you know it,” said New York Giants safety and Windsor graduate Jason Pinnock, in a message to his former team. “It's tatted on me, that's a family. A real big family, we ride for each other no matter what. Just keep going, I'm praying for you guys, always, always watching.”
Pinnock has always been a supporter of his alma mater, but has leaned in this season after learning about the tragedies.
“It means a lot,” Robinson said. “He's always just doing what he can for the family to support and give back.”
After all, it's safe to say Windsor football has a lot going for them but most importantly, it’s how they go all in for each other.
“You know we just come together as a family,” Robinson said. “We have something to play for. Yeah we're gonna miss our guy forever but we gonna finish it for him.”
