RIVERSIDE

One final time, Jackson Keller lined up alongside his senior teammates.

Keller is a defensive end for the Highland Huskies football team.

And he is about to become a U.S. Marine.

A soldier.

One of our heroes at a time when we’re really needing them.

“It’s just been a dream of mine to serve my country. Help people out,” Keller said. “I mean, the country gave everything to me and I will give everything I have back to it.”

Keller is set to graduate early in December, one of three Highland seniors to meet the early graduation requirements. And then it’s off to the Marines. The proud.

On Senior Night at Highland, Oct. 13, Keller helped the Huskies finish off their season with a 28-0 win over Wapello. He dug in deep on that defensive line. He battled. He fought off blockers in the trenches. Let’s call it the opening act to Marines basic.

Joining him on that line were senior teammates Nicolas Oriano and Jack Peiffer with Remington Fields stepping up behind them at linebacker. They were the only seniors on a team that won its last two games to break a 15-game losing streak.

“It’s a great feeling,” Keller said. “I mean, two years. We won one game last week and we won our second game Senior Night. It feels great to go 2 and 0 end of the season and having our younger kids come up.

“Hopefully they can get some more wins next year and actually go further in the playoffs.”

And that’s what was important for Keller and his senior teammates. They wanted to carve a path into the future. For themselves and for the younger Huskies. And for a head coach, Cory Quail, who is building a football program after arriving at Highland last year.

“It’s only four of them, but I love every single one of them and I know they’re going to go on to be better men,” Quail said. “And that’s the most important thing when we leave this football field.”

“They’re wonderful guys,” Quail added. “I couldn’t thank them any more for being here and supporting me because I need that also as a head coach. It’s not just me supporting the team, they’re there for me, also, and I love them for that.”

Keller was a 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore two years ago when the Huskies won their final home game to make the Class A playoffs.

“We had a big class of seniors that year,” he said. “This year, it was everyone. It was the whole team or it was nothing. It’s not one single individual, it’s everyone on our team.”

Keller, who is now 220 pounds, was one of the seniors leading the way. It began in the weight room last spring.

“Jackson is a kid that’s always pushing in the weight room,” Quail said. “And the way he transformed his body and made himself healthier. That’s something he’s going to carry on in the Marines and his life.”

And he was not alone.

“You have guys like Nick Oriano, who was here and battled through two broken fingers,” Quail said. “You have Remington Fields, who just doesn’t say a single word. He just goes out there and plays so damn efficiently. But he’s a kid, you see him work hard. He leads by action.

“And then you’ve got Jack Peiffer. Jack’s the character of our team. … You love the kid. He’s a kid that works his tail off for you. He’s got such bright character. He’s got such a bright future.”

The four seniors combined for 14 tackles in the season finale against Wapello, but more than that they played key leadership roles in reversing the Huskies’ fortunes. The win over Louisa-Muscatine came after disheartening 55-0 and 56-0 losses to Columbus and Pekin, respectively.

“After L&M, our guys learned how to win, learned how to execute,” Quail said. “And you could see that confidence before the game. Last week was the first time we saw the guys hooting and hollering before a game. They were loud. They were energetic.”

That same energy carried over to the game against Wapello.

When it was over, each senior stood in front of the postgame team huddle and spoke to the underclassmen.

“We had to have a complete program change two years ago,” Oriano said. “We’ve just been building from that and I guess finally starting to pay off. We’re finally starting to see those results and starting to get that culture, that brotherhood, that we wanted.”

Keller stood proudly in front of that huddle Friday night.

The brotherhood meant something.

Soon, he’ll trade Highland Huskie red for Marine fatigues. Talk about a brotherhood. He’ll have a great story to tell.

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul