The Cook County football team earned its first win of the season against the Carlton Bulldogs last Wednesday night. It would be the last time for the seniors on their home turf. After a sensational game on the field, senior Kipp Sande wasn’t ready to leave.
Earlier this summer, Sande was working out just about every day. He was at the Fitness Center lifting weights six days a week and his neighbors would often see him running wind sprints up the road. His work ethic and love of football were his driving force as he prepared for his final season as a Cook County Viking.
Just three weeks into practice, Sande suffered a broken thumb in the Vikings’ annual Blue vs. White scrimmage. Not only was his thumb broken, but his thumb would need two pins set in it to ensure proper recovery. It is always tough for a small town team to lose its best player, but it was even tougher for Kipp to watch on Friday nights under the lights from the sideline.
After missing the first four games of the season, Sande’s cast was removed, but the doctor was still not ready to clear Kipp for football. If it was solely up to the doctor, Sande may never have played on the football field again. With Kipp’s persuasion and his parent’s approval, Sande came back in the fifth week of the season.
Against Barnum, Sande played like a man who had finally been let out of his fourweek cage. Sande tallied 19 tackles, eight of which were unassisted. He added 68 yards rushing on just 13 carries as the Vikings came up just short of a dramatic come-frombehind upset win.
This past week, Kipp rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns while racking up another 18 tackles on defense in the Vikings’ 27-10 win over Carlton. His leadership and level of intensity has inspired everyone on our team to work that much harder.
As I walked off the field on Wednesday night, I looked over at the bench to see Kipp sitting all by himself. I walked over and sat next to him and gently put my arm around his shoulder. All Kipp could say is, “I just don’t want to leave. I’m finally back and I just don’t want to leave.” Tears of frustration mixed with an enduring love for football made for a bittersweet feeling that night.
After Coach Boomer and I offered to walk out with him, he said he just wanted to sit alone for a moment. There Kipp sat, not wanting to leave the very field he had come to know and love. Thevery place where he had shared frustrations, jokes, successes, stories, hard practices, conditioning, and numerous other moments with his fellow teammates.
If our younger players have picked up anything from Kipp Sande, I hope they witnessed the pure passion and love for the game that he played with. I can only hope that my own kids will give their whole heart to something like Kipp Sande has to football.
Mitch Dorr, a Cook County
High School Class of 1993
graduate, is now a social studies
teacher and coach at his
former alma mater. Mitch
coaches Vikings football and
boys’ basketball.
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