Cross-town Classic makes for a very special Senior Night

Senior Night is an emotional event for everyone involved -- the senior athlete, the coaching staff and the parents. For the senior, it might be the last time they play their favorite sport, as well as play with some of their best friends. For the coaches, they are saying goodbye to some of their strongest leaders and players who have played for them for several years. For the parents, it's a reminder that their teenager is growing up, reaching adulthood and might be gone in less than a year, off to college.

St. Charles East's Senior Night took place on Week 8. As if the emotions weren't running high already for the Saints, they were playing their biggest rival, St. Charles North, in the Cross-town Classic Friday.

I decided to see what Senior Night meant to the Gunther family -- Rob, Leigh and son Sam, the quarterback for the Saints. It turned out there was so more behind the night than just getting their names announced, walking arm-and-arm with parents and emotions.

St. Charles East quarterback Sam Gunther looked a bit dejected Friday night after the Saints fell to their rivals, St. Charles North 28-26.

Perhaps he didn't feel like discussing how his team, the favorite, fell to the underdog North Stars.

But the moment he was asked about the events regarding Senior Night and his parents, Rob and Leigh, the 18-year-old with the floppy brown hair, smiled and laughed just a little.

"It was nice," Sam Gunther said. "My mom loves that kind of stuff. She was really happy about the whole thing. It made her very proud. That was good for her. It was fun walking out there with my parents."

As Sam recalled these moments, it was nearing 11 p.m. About four hours earlier, the events of Senior Night began at Norris Stadium, home of the Saints.

Immediately after the sophomore game ended, Senior Night began. This wasn't just for football players -- band members, cheerleaders and most of the seniors from the fall sports participated in the event that took place before the varsity game.

The first football senior who was announced was No. 42, Chris Kaci, with his parents out of the inflatable orange and black helmet. Six seniors later, it was the Gunthers' turn. Sam clutched on to Leigh's arm and gave her a kiss on the cheek while Rob was slightly off to the side, smiling.

Leigh was wearing her son's white No. 4 jersey, a tradition for all moms on Senior Night.

The trio walked on the track before it was time for Sam to head to the football field while his parents blended in with the fans on the Saints' side of the stadium.

"He's the youngest of four boys, so it's kind of tough because this is it," Rob Gunther said. "It's a little emotional for us, but it was great. It was an exciting, exciting night for us.

"We talked to him in the end zone -- we were a little late -- and he said, 'I'm really glad you are here. I feel great, I feel confident,' so that was neat."

Rob and Leigh have four sons -- Max, now 23, Ted, 21, Fritz, 19, and Sam. Sam and Ted played varsity football, and all played tennis.

When Ted played football as a senior, the Saints were not playoff-bound, so that Senior Night was really it for them.

This season, St. Charles East is 6-2 and have high hopes for a playoff run, so the night was not too emotional for Leigh because there is a solid chance the Saints will play at home again in the postseason.

Still, Sam is the baby of the family -- and he's quarterbacking one of the better teams in the area, something none of his brothers did.

"Because I know this is not the last game, I don't think it's as emotional," Leigh said. "I'm an emotional person, and I haven't even thought of crying tonight … if I start to think about it, I could probably start to cry."

No tears were shed over Sam on this particular night, but maybe it will hit his parents harder in the spring, when he plays his last match at home on the tennis courts.

Not only will they be saying goodbye to Sam as a tennis player, but as a high school student as well.