A road trip down to Jackson ended in another loss for the Francis Howell Central Spartans football team, 56 to 26. The team traveled down to Jackson Friday during sixth hour. Due to the length of the trip, the team decided to be more extravagant for the players.

“It was a long trip, but it was a great experience of the guys who might be playing college. They took good care of us, we got food, and they gave us a charter bus which was very relaxing,” senior captain Jeff Desir said. The seniors were allowed to stay overnight in Jackson at a hotel and leave in the morning. The overnight trip allowed the seniors to clear their minds and forget the loss quicker than usual.

“Staying at the hotel helped us forget about the loss. It showed us that moving on needs to go quicker than what we have been doing,” Desir said. A short memory is necessary as the Spartans have more work to be done.

The loss concluded the regular season, but due to rules put in place for this year by MHSHAA , every team is guaranteed a playoff game. Central’s game will be against rival Francis Howell High, ranked as the fifth best team on stlhighschoolsports.com. The key to victory, according to Desir, is finishing the game.

“We have to play four quarters, play the whole game,” he said. The lack of effort for the entire game haunted the team in its previous loss to Howell, 55 to 17.

The game will be at Howell this Friday, 7 p.m.