Sports highlight of the month: Patrick Sears

Looking back on the 2013 football season,  senior Patrick Sears is a standout in his leadership both on and off the field. Standing at 6’2.5″ and 215 pounds, co-captain Sears has been key to the Tiger’s offense, as their starting quarterback.

This past season was Sears’ first time as starting quarterback, replacing graduate Sean Rondeau. He said, “it was tough for the first game, but after that I settled in pretty well.” However, the season had a rough start. The Tigers began with a shut out loss against East Longmeadow, and would only experience their first win against Chicopee High, four games in.

Sears experienced a minor setback with a knee injury, causing him to sit out for their Northampton game. He said, “It was hard to sit and watch them lose, and not be able to do anything.” The Tigers bounced back following the their 22-44 loss against Northampton with a win over Chicopee High.

Perhaps the most memorable game was the Tiger’s first round playoff game versus Wahconah. It was a neck-and-neck match up, with the final score of 24 to 20, Wahconah. Notably, Sears was compared to “Tom Brady” by Wahconah coach Gary Campbell for his outstanding play. Sears said, “It was a heartbreaking loss, but both teams played very well.”

The Tigers ended the season with a 4 and 6 record, with Patrick Sears bringing in 1123 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, and 130 rushing yards. Despite their official record, Sears had positive thoughts regarding his experience. He said, “We are like brothers on the team, and the coaches are awesome. They give you what you need to succeed. This year could have gone better, but it was still fun.” He also said “that just being on the South Hadley football team was a title to be proud of.”

As of right now, Sears does not have any definite plans to play college level football, but plans on pursuing a pre-med focus in college.

His final comment to South Hadley was: “Number 14 on the field, number 1 in your heart.”