The Program: For Unity seniors, support goes beyond the field

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TOLONO — Like any good mom, Kathy Miebach comes prepared.

She has her customary spot for Unity home football games, positioning herself about halfway up the aluminum bleachers near the 50-yard line at Hicks Field.

Her parents sit with her. Her husband, Matt, is on the chain gang, so he's stationed on the opposing sidelines. Her two oldest sons, former Unity football players Ethan and Evan, usually stand in the middle of the west end zone. All in an effort to watch what No. 4 on the Unity roster, senior Eric Miebach, is up to this fall.

For road games, the Miebach crew tries to sit in the same spot — 50-yard line, halfway up — in the visiting bleachers. Kathy helps set up Unity flags in the road bleachers whenever the Rockets play away from Hicks Field to give it more of a home-game atmosphere when they take the field.

Leading us back to preparation. Forecasts on Friday nights in the regular season can vary. Just like they will the final weekend in October when Unity plays its first playoff game.

"I have sunscreen, blankets, umbrellas, towels and bleacher seats," Kathy said. "I am usually ready for whatever Mother Nature could throw at us."

Kathy is one of the moms on this season's Unity football team who has experienced a cavalcade of emotions this season watching her youngest son play out his final high school season. The 14 Unity seniors on Scott Hamilton's roster will play their final regular-season game at 7 p.m. Friday when the Rockets (6-2) travel to play at Monticello (5-3).

"Football has been very lucky with the parent support that we have," said Scott Hamilton, Unity's coach in his 30th season leading the Rockets and also the school's athletic director. "I've had very few encounters with parents over playing time or those types of things. My dealings have been very positive."

Winning, of course, helps. Unity has done plenty of that in Hamilton's tenure. Just like the Rockets have celebrated with plenty of playoff breakfasts at the Philo Tavern and team breakfasts on Saturday mornings after regular-season games at the Masonic Lodge in Tolono. Drive through Tolono and Unity football helmet signs are attached to light poles, maroon rockets are painted on roads and varsity players get their numbers painted in front of their driveways.

Making all this happen? The parents.

"We do a lot of work,," said Joe O'Neill, the father of Unity senior wide receiver Dalton O'Neill and sophomore wide receiver Mason O'Neill, "but really, it's a bonding experience for the parents."

The standard of parents helping the Rockets was established early on in Hamilton's time at Unity. Without Hamilton's knowledge.

Thanks to the efforts of Marguerite Rawdin, whose two sons played for the Rockets in the late 1990s. Her grandson, Cale, was Unity's starting quarterback last season.

"Marguerite created a book for the parents," Hamilton said. "I finished sending some emails to Kathy, who has become our liaison this season, the other day. She was talking about things that were the tradition and the history of the way we do things and referencing some of the things that are in the book about what we do with the playoffs."

Kathy said traditionally, a parent of a Unity senior captain becomes the parent liaison for the Rockets' football parent group.

"I most likely got the role this year because I have been a senior parent before and both of my older sons, Ethan and Evan, were captains," Kathy said. "I sort of know what Coach Hamilton expects from the parent group. There is a binder that gets passed down from year to year to help us know what our responsibilities are as a football parent group.

"Coach Hamilton lets me know what he needs and I, in turn, coordinate with the parents to fulfill those needs. Instead of having 200 parents asking him questions, they get funneled through me and I forward them to Coach if I don't already know the answer."

Four dads of current Unity players — Matt Miebach, Joe O'Neill, Jason Henry and Ben Rink — have a different view during home games. They're all part of the chain gang crew who manages the signal poles and down markers during games.

"We say the game can't start without us, so we are pretty vital to the game," Joe said with a laugh. "Before I head to the opponent's sideline, I stop in the end zone and try to catch Dalton for a quick good-luck hug as they are running out to get introduced. There's nothing like that view to watch a football game from the sideline, especially when I'm a few feet from Dalton lined up in his position. We usually will give each other a wink at least once a game."

While he's supposed to remain neutral during home games, Joe admits he slipped up a month ago during Unity's 55-6 win against Pontiac when Dalton caught a touchdown pass from Unity quarterback Dane Eisenmenger.

"It's hard to not celebrate at times, and this time I couldn't help myself," Joe said. "Dane threw the ball out to Dalton for a screen pass and Aiden Porter made a great block out in front of him. As Dalton is running into the end zone, Aiden points over to me and yells, 'That's for you Joe.' I was pretty jacked after that and gave a loud 'WOOH' and got some nasty looks from the Pontiac sideline. It was worth it as I have coached Aiden in sports for many years, and it was fun to see the joy he had for Dalton scoring. I think he also knew how I would react. It's a fun group to be around, great young men, and I can't wait to watch them catch fire and make a deep run in these playoffs."

If Unity does make a deep run — the Rockets have won at least one playoff game in every postseason trip since the 2008 season and the current seniors experienced a run to the Class 3A state title game in 2021 when they were sophomores and advanced to the 3A state semifinals last season when they were juniors — then the Miebachs, O'Neills and a dozen other sets of Unity senior parents will have more memories to cherish.

The Friday night lights are fleeting, but the Saturday afternoon playoff games are about to start. Yet the season has an end date — the 3A state title game is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25 at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal — so the Unity parents are trying to savor every last moment they can.

"It will definitely be sad when Eric walks off the field for the last time, however, I will also feel very proud and excited about what the future holds," Kathy said. "I will miss the evening talks throughout the week of our opponents' strengths. I will miss hearing how the team is preparing to meet those challenges. I will miss the after-game hugs and pictures.

"I will not miss the mud-stained, sweaty uniforms that need to be cleaned. I will not miss the rotten weather we sometimes had to endure.

"With having three sons all play football, so much of our lives have revolved around it. And, now that will change. I suppose Matt will continue helping with the chain gang. We will still have nephews that will play for Unity. Maybe, Eric will even continue a football career in college. But I will definitely miss having a son playing for Unity football."