The Pearl Cohn freshman football team received praise for winning its freshman city championship.
On Thursday, parents and church members of Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church applauded the team for its win against Cane Ridge last month.
They said persistence, patience, and practice paid off on and off the field. They encouraged the athletes to continue to be focused throughout high school and beyond.
"I hope that they'll continue to excel. That they'll look back at this moment this evening and say you know what people rooting for me," pastor Marcus Campbell said.
"We had leadership and everything that we needed to be able to do what we needed to do. So we stepped on the field, we already said we're going to be at war so we just did what we had to do," said freshman Steven Otis.
After the ceremony, players and parents enjoyed a catered dinner.
