After moving from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Harrisonburg, Virginia, junior Javante Chacon had high hopes of playing for the HHS varsity football team. Chacon played football in Jacksonville all of his life, however moving to Harrisonburg presented an opportunity to continue his career with a new team.

“I wanted to join the HHS football team [because I] wanted to have fun and keep my mind off of things during this pandemic,” Chacon said.

Growing up, Chacon was exposed to football at a young age and participated in youth sports in Jacksonville.

“I started playing [flag] football in elementary school. The thing I enjoy about [playing football] is that it gives me a break from everything. It makes me feel myself,” Chacon said. “I feel like people in North Carolina take football more seriously, just from where I came from, but it’s still a competition up here too.”

Due to the pandemic, the fall football season was moved to the spring. Chacon was able to workout with a few of the football players during off season and get a sense of the team. 

“My goals [at the beginning of the season were] to build chemistry with my team and go [as] far as we [could] through this rough year. I wanted to improve my strength and stability to help me on the field,” Chacon said. “I’m excited [for the next season though], because we will most likely have a regular season. That means more games and time to have fun with my team.”

While HHS football was new for Chacon, academics were as well. 

“This year I haven’t done the best to balance [school and football]. I’ve had a lot going on but next year, I will improve in the classroom and on the field,” Chacon said.

During the season, Chacon created bonds with his teammates to help build the team chemistry.

“I looked up to every single one of the seniors, they helped motivate the team and pushed us to be better,” Chacon said.

Out of all the games of the season, Chacon believes he played his best game against Spotswood.

“My best game was when we traveled to Spotswood, the last game of the regular season. I had 173 rushing yards and two touchdowns and that helped the team [get] to playoffs,” Chacon said.

Next year when Chacon graduates, he has hopes of attending college out of state and possibly playing football.

“[After graduating next year], I would like to go somewhere out of state just to see the world a little bit. If things don’t go as planned, we will have to see what God has planned for me,” Chacon said.