The Battlefield football team has always been a united team, but this season they are playing for something different. In late May of 2016, the Bobcat community lost someone very important to them. Varsity football player, junior Jake Folland and his sister, freshman Sonja Folland, lost their beloved mother, Kim Folland. Mrs. Folland was a big part of the Battlefield football community, and a well known team mom. She was always seen cheering at the football games and attending team events.  

The team admires not only Mrs. Folland, but the entire Folland family. They took the loss and transformed it into something truly inspiring. Each player was impacted in some way; “The loss of Mrs. Folland made us tougher…it pushed us to be stronger and live by our motto ‘one heartbeat’, we can do anything we want to if we play together and never forget who we are playing for,” sophomore Ryan Coll shares.

The team remembers Mrs. Folland in different ways and uses their emotions on the field. “We have a sticker on the front left of our helmets representing that Mrs. Folland is always on our minds…that sticker shows us why we push through the hard times, it gives us a reason to give it our all every game or every practice,” expresses senior Colt Hudson.

Jake Folland takes pride in how the team recognizes and appreciates his mother’s legacy. “It shows that the team and community cares about me and my family and loves us,” Folland exclaims.

Former football teammate and friend, junior Myles Williams, feels strongly about the dedication. “It’s for a good cause. It is good to support a guy like Jake who is always there for everyone else,” Williams says.

The bobcat football team plays as “One Heart Beat” and the teammates, coaches, and managers have all felt this immense heartache. Jake’s best friend and teammate, junior Josh King exclaims, “It means the world to me that I get to play for such a wonderful woman.”

“We are all more passionate about the game of football knowing we have someone to play for, [her passing] brought the team together and made everyone realize how much we needed one another. We are a brotherhood that cannot be separated,” Coll concludes. Every sports team needs motivation and the football team definitely has something incredible to play for.