The Union Marching Band performs during halftime of the team's final game of the regular season.
Coach Joe Hadachek is one of many Knights to wear a Mohawk.
Win or lose, the Knights always gather at midfield for a prayer after each game.
A few games took place on the brand new Union field this year.
Area veterans serve in the color guard for the National Anthem before each Union game.
The 2010 Knights: Union celebrates its undefeated season after win last Friday.
Record-setting running back Wes Burnside gets a lift from Union linemen for this photo.
Xylophone players join the band for National Anthem; the new scoreboard is in the background.
The youngest players in the Union school district enter the field before the high school team.
Like every other high school program, the Union football team is a community effort.
And the success of this year's undefeated Class 3A District 5 championship team is a community event.
Even the guy who was the Union coach's football coach 31 years ago was there to see the final game.
Bob Olson, who was Joe Hadachek's coach at Dysart, was an honorary captain last Friday when the Union captains went to midfield for the coin toss.
"He taught me a lot. He made me a better player than I would have been without his tutelage," said Hadachek. Also, says the coach of the undefeated Union team, Coach Olson knew how to handle difficult times.
"Our team was 0-9 my senior year in 1979," Hadachek recalls. "He knows what it's like to be on that side of things."
Olson is now a shared superintendent at Clarion-Goldfield.
Along with Hadachek's former coach, another former star honored before Union's last game was Gary L. Astleford, who went from La Porte City to play for Iowa State 50 years ago. He also became a teacher and served as city council member and Mayor in Osakis, Minnesota. He retired in 2000.
New field
The community celebration actually began long before the first kickoff. Union supporters and sponsors contributed to the building of new football and baseball fields. For many years, baseball and football fields overlapped, causing scheduling and quality issues. But this year, both teams play on brand-new facilities. The new footbal field is at the same location while the baseball field is now located on the south edge of La Porte, just off of Highway 218. The new field also includes new turf, a new high-tech scoreboard, and play clocks at each end zone. Team Spirit; team hairLike many other teams, the Union players have adopted a hair style for the season: Mohawk. Even the coach has one. Community participation
The rest of the La Porte City/Dysart area is in on the celebration, too. Look for the Union High School Marching Band -- which earned a Division 1 rating with its patriotic show this year -- at halftime, and before the game. They will be playing the National Anthem while area veterans carry the flag.
Union plays Clear Creek Amana tonight.
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