The excitement, intensity, and focus were there Thursday as Lincoln High prepared for Friday's playoff game.
But in the midst of the final practice, something...or rather someone was missing.
During the season opener, 48 year old Lincoln High head football coach Keith Howard died of a heart attack during halftime.
"And after the game I got our coaches and kids together, and you could see the hurt and the looks on their faces of not understanding," says Coach Chad Martin.
Chad Martin, who played under Coach Howard at Lincoln High, took the reigns as head coach of a team of broken hearts.
"Losing Coach Howard was like losing your dad, and if anything went wrong he was the type of guy you could talk to," says senior safety and wide receiver Branton Hall.
Despite its great loss, Lincoln High earned 7-3 record and for the third straight year, a berth in the playoffs.
"Everybody leaned on each other, especially as a team. We formed a bond. We came together. We're playing better," says Hall.
But winning is not the only tradition of Coach Howard's that's being carried on this season.
The new football field, which Coach Howard helped design, was dedicated and named after the beloved coach.
"And Keith would always joke 'I don't want this place named after me'...and he would punctuate the statement by saying 'you only name things after dead people,'" says Principal Terry Roller.
"He was so intertwined in each kid's life, and that's just what I want to continue to do...that's the most important thing as a coach: to get our guys to get to that level higher than they ever would have been," says Coach Martin.
As he takes the field Friday night, Hall says he'll remember words of encouragement he always heard from Coach Howard.
"Just make every play your last...as if it were your last."
Lincoln High plays Bibb County High on Friday night.
Meanwhile, Lincoln is collecting donations for a scholarship fund for Coach Howard's daughter, Linzy Howard.
To learn how to donate, click on this link: http://lhs.tcboe.org/?PageName=LatestNews&Section=LatestNews&ItemID=74121&ISrc=School&Itype=News
