United Football: A New, Younger Look

“Excellence becomes tradition” is the motto of United Football, and this team lives up to it. A rich history of thrilling fans and the partnership of two rival schools define United Football.

United is not a traditional football team, as it is made up of kids from both Hackett Catholic Prep and Kalamazoo Christian, which are rival schools in just about every other sport. Despite this rivalry, these athletes find a way to come together to create a cohesive unit. Hackett senior Noah Matson said, “There is really no rivalry when we are in football…we are all focused on the ultimate goal to get wins.”

This year’s team has a new, young look that relies on many underclassmen to win games. Hackett senior Eli Backman said, “We are younger so we don’t have as much experience at the varsity level, but it is also a strength because we have a lot of heart.” One of these young players is Hackett sophomore Keegan McCue, who is the United starting quarterback. Keegan is an example of how this young team shows great composure. Despite being down 21-0 against Berrien Springs, United came back to win 28-27. Keegan said, “It was a character-building game…even when mistakes were made, we were able to bounce back.”

This year's team has big goals as United Football has won the district title in three of the past five years. They have great confidence in themselves and are ready to do great things. Sophomore quarterback, Keegan McCue says they, “can definitely go a long way if we put in the work even though we have a young team.” United plays their rival, Schoolcraft at Vicksburg this Friday. All Hackett students should show up and support their Titans!