Lucas Lovejoy Gridiron Club president Travis Droupy sums up the complicated 2020 football season very simply.
“This year has been one big collective hold your breath, but we got the opportunity to play football,” Droupy said. “If had not been for that, I don’t know what we would have done.”
Droupy’s comment speaks more about life in any one-high-school Texas community than it does about Lucas Lovejoy specifically. He would know. Growing up in Cuero, he saw how important the high school football team was to the community, both as a window to the town and a rallying point for its residents. During his time with the Lovejoy Gridiron Club, he’s been driven to replicate the experience of his youth for today’s students, including his children.
“I remember growing up in Cuero, and our football team had first-class everything,” he said. “Today, living in Lovejoy, which is a relatively young community, the club’s goal is to make everything first class for these kids.”
Lovejoy’s football program has grown into a consistent winner – only 2 losing seasons since first taking the field in 2008. The Gridiron Club has grown along with the program. Droupy said the club has 276 active members, all of whom do their part to help fund up to 85 percent of the football budget.
The club’s Senior Moms Group continues to be instrumental, he said, as have countless others who’ve given their time, expertise and money to help the team succeed.
“We participate because we want to give back to the kids,” Droupy said. “From a support perspective, we know that state and school funding is restricted. We have to play a huge role in supporting the team and providing basic needs like cleats, helmets and whatever the coach [Chris Ross] says we need.”
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