When Friday night lights meets the big stage in Western New York, there's a heightened sense of excitement in the air. The emotions are higher, the crowd is louder and the stakes have never been greater.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen knows the feeling.
"You feel everyone in your section is watching, everyone in Western New York is watching," Andreessen said.
This week, thousands of families and community members will once again descend on Orchard Park, NY for the annual Section VI High School Football playoffs. For high school football players in Western New York, it's a moment you dream about at the start of every season.
"That's your goal at the beginning of the year. You have the big media day before where you get to meet the other team captains from Section VI," Andreessen said. "It's just a great experience, from being in the locker room to being on the field."
Before the first kickoff of the Section VI playoffs, players and coaches get a taste of the spotlight. Every year on the Tuesday before championship weekend, Highmark Stadium hosts Section VI Media Day — a long-running tradition where reporters, photographers, and broadcasters meet with coaches and team captains from every finalist.
Players swap jerseys for polos, pose for photos, and talk about the road that brought them there. For many, it's the first time they've sat behind a microphone or answered questions under the bright lights of the Bills' press room. It's also a chance to meet their counterparts — the same captains they'll line up against a few days later.