Friday night’s fourth round of the Carolina 1A football finals didn’t turn out as we would have liked here in Sampson County. Our hearts broke as the final seconds ticked off the clock, with Wilson Prep ahead of our beloved Lakewood Leopards 36-17.
But the final score didn’t tell the entire story, not by a long shot. The numbers don’t show the heart on that field, nor the fight evident in the Roseboro-Salemburg players’ eyes as they battled it out down after down, tackle after tackle.
Their story has been one of tenacity all season. With a stellar 10-4 overall record and a 3-1 conference tally, the Leopards are the only Sampson County team to have made a deep run in the playoffs, just one game away from the regional finals and two away from the state championship. And they have made us proud.
We’ve cheered them game after game, but particularly as they pulled out the victory two weeks ago against conference foe North Duplin, the only team to have beaten them during the regular season. Their victory over the Rebels in the playoffs gave us all yet another reason to cheer for the Leopards, urging them toward the ultimate price — a 1A football trophy.
While a 2024 victory is no longer within their grasp, this team needs to know — as the dust settles and the heartbreak heals — that one thing will remain clear: Lakewood’s mighty Leopards will remain champions in our hearts, whether they brought home the shiny gold trophies that designated them as such or not.
While everyone would have loved a win against Wilson Prep and a chance at a trip to those two final games, that was not to be. But it does not — and should not — diminish yet another great year for this group of young men and their coaches. It’s been a remarkable couple years for the Leopards, one that comes with bragging rights: a second year with a 10-4 overall record and a 3-1 conference tally with a second place showing in the 1A conference, a mirror image of 2024. That’s not too shabby.
As we said last year, those are remarkable feats by remarkable young men who have grown as individuals and as a team, feats in which each should take great pride. In other words, while there is always sting in defeat, our Leopards should not carry a defeatist attitude. They should lift their heads high and carry themselves beyond the pain, understanding that one game, even a big game, should never be allowed to define them.
What does define them is their athleticism, their good sportsmanship and a determination to play hard each and every time they hit the field.
Their efforts this season have been praise-worthy, and all the Leopard fans out there should be singing those praises rather than talking about the outcome of one single game. After all, it’s what these young men deserve.
We applaud each of the players and their coaches for representing Clinton and Sampson County in grand fashion, for not only being good winners but for being good sports even on a night when it would have been easier to have been far less.
While critics often say that no one remembers No. 2, we disagree profoundly.
Being among the best high school football teams in a conference is nothing to ignore, and Lakewood is. And even after the dust settled on the fourth round game last Friday night, our Lakewood Leopard team was still being talked about in a positive manner by more than just Sampsonians. No doubt they will continue to be.
To the Leopards, we applaud you for continuing to bring renewed life and enthusiasm to the Sampson County football program, for being good all-around young men on and off the field, and for giving it all you had each and every time you hit the gridiron.
Trophy or not, the Lakewood Leopards are our champions and we couldn’t be prouder of them.