EXETER, Pa. — As Wyoming Area hits the practice field, the defending state champion Warriors can't help to think – timing is everything.
"I was actually talking about this with my parents the other day," Wyoming Area senior center and linebacker Bryce Hinkle said. "If it literally happened three months earlier, our season probably would have got cut short and we would have never had the fantastic title game that we had."
"I've talked to a lot of people like that, like 'what if' but I just feel like that's another reason that that was just meant to be," Wyoming Area senior quarterback and safety Jacob Williams added. "I feel like that was kind of what we were supposed to do."
So the Warriors are thankful they get to take this field as the defending state champions, but they also know that they'll be a target on their back.
"If I was on the opposite end and I said, 'hey, I get to take down the defending state champs' I'd want to," Hinkle said. "I'd want to play my best."
"Other teams are going to look at us and say, 'well those are the state champions,' but right now we're acting like we're stuck at the bottom," Williams added.
That's a mindset Williams hopes to get across as the team's quarterback, stepping in for Dominic DeLuca.
"It's not easy," Williams admitted. "With the awards, the achievements and I just hope I can be just as good and hope I can fill the role that he left me."
Wyoming Area opens the season September 11th at home against Riverside – the start of a Wyoming Valley Conference schedule that was adjusted for a 5th time just last week.
"It's challenging, but all the experiences you have and especially as you get the opportunity to have more of them, it really comes down to be out here, prepare the best you can," Wyoming Area Football Coach Randy Spencer said. "We're looking to get out here and as a program, work towards our goals, but this year especially more than ever, appreciate the time we get out to be here. It's such a fluid, dynamic situation, but again, at this point, Landon, if we're out there playing, it's a win for everybody."