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Does the year 1998 ring a bell? If it doesn’t, here’s a recap: Bill Clinton was the President of the United States. John Elway led his Denver Broncos to Super Bowl XVII. “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion was a rising song.

It was also the last time the Londonderry Lancer football team won a state championship. Not a single student at LHS was even alive. Twenty-one years later, the Lancers have finally done the impossible; they have won a state championship.

With a group of kids that have been playing together since the third grade, the bond is more than a friendship; it’s a brotherhood.

“Spending so much time together has made us a family,” senior slot receiver Tyler Kayo said. “I’ve been with these guys forever and we’ve all been through a lot, and it makes us so close.”

The game yesterday was definitely a battle of the defenses. With the freezing cold temperature and the wind blowing, it made it hard for either one of the team’s offenses to accumulate points.

“Coming into this game with the team Exeter has and the weather we had to play in, I knew it was going to be a battle,” senior quarterback Jake McEachern said.

Another prominent piece of the win was the ground game. With the wind, it was very hard for either quarterback to throw the ball. Senior running back Jeffery Wiedenfeld was a key part in the game plan.

“We had to keep the pace for the offense to drive downfield,” Wiedenfeld said.

Going into the half, Lancer fans were worried. With only a four point advantage, a spark needed to be ignited; and that spark was lit in the Lancer locker room.

“I think the players just kept telling each other we have 24 minutes left,”  Head Coach Jimmy Lauzon said. “The coaches gave them some adjustments for the second half, but the players just kept telling each other to leave it all out there. I think the limited amount of time we had the ball in the first half hurt us for points, but the second half was all about heart and desire.”

Now that the drought is finally over, and a new streak of winning has begun, the football team have some words of advice for the future Lancers.

“Make sure you’re really close with your teammates,” McEachern said. “Having a true brotherhood definitely helps teams with success. Be willing to put in the hard work. Good teams work hard and trust each other.”