Newark Valley came together cheering on the varsity high school football team. This as players traveled to Syracuse for their season opener at the Carrier Dome.


While the football field may have been empty for the Newark Valley Cardinals season opener... in town, the scene was much more vibrant.


"We stick together. There's a lot of pride, as you can see on my shirt. Nothing is going to bring us down. Win, lose or draw; we're going to have fun and it should be exciting," said parent Tom Wright.


The Cardinals were selected to play against last year's Section 3 champion, Utica Notre Dame, in Syracuse's major stadium.


"We've been having the countdown in our weight room since then. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that it was 114 days till the Dome and now we're down to a couple hours," said Newark Valley Head Coach Brian Sherwood.


And the community threw a parade to send them off.


"We had one last year before the Section Championship and it gets us pumped up. It lets us know that people are coming out to support us," said Senior Player Shawn Potter.


"I couldn't ask for a better place to coach as far as the kids go and the community and the support that we get. They're always out there and they're always supporting us at our games, and on kickoffs and sendoffs. It's just a very fun small town environment with a very close-knit group of people," said Sherwood.


And with the town's 200 available tickets selling out rapidly, it was clear the encouragement would follow the players all the way.


"For a small town like Newark Valley, for this community, over the past years, there's been a tremendous amount of support to away games. There's going to be hundreds of us up there in Syracuse at the Dome," said Wright.


"When they put that Newark Valley football helmet on, they're not just going to play a game. They're going to represent the whole entire community and bring the community together," said Sherwood.


And the players were ready to make that community proud.