Suffolk News-Herald

It’s often said that the first part of any athlete’s day is a rich, nutritional breakfast. But on Thursday afternoon, the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy football teams got a gluttonous gift from the seniors’ parents.

Several tables of food lined the lawn in front of the school as the Saints snacked out at their annual Cover Dish Dinner as the squad prepared to start the 2003-4 season. The varsity team begins play Aug. 29 at Windsor, while the junior varsity team hosts Collegiate on Sept. 11. Both teams went undefeated in TCIS competition last season.

&uot;This brings us together as a unit,&uot; said junior Matt Tuttle, a varsity linebacker. &uot;Our expectations are really high, because we’re going to work really hard.&uot;

Defensive captain Josh Bergfield was a bit more blunt. &uot;We’ll probably win 10 games this season,&uot; he said. &uot;Losing just isn’t our style.&uot;

&uot;We do this to welcome our players back from the summer,&uot; said Darlene Gruber, whose son Josh plays on the varsity squad. &uot;We want to let our guys know that we’re behind them two hundred percent. Every year, we get tremendous support from the community.&uot;

Tyler Van Selow and the rest of the junior varsity team that went 7-1 last season and stomped Norfolk Academy in the TCIS title game weren’t looking for nutritional value in the culinary offerings. &uot;This food should beef us up a bit, because we’re a little team,&uot; said the young tailback. &uot;We’re very powerful, and we’ve got a lot of determination.&uot;