BABCOCK RANCH — A heavy transport helicopter thundered over Andy Habing’s home at 7:05 on Tuesday morning on its way to the athletic fields adjacent to Babcock High.
The rumbling noise was music to his ears. It was the culmination of a moment that had been a long time coming.
The Trailblazers hit the practice field for the first time later in the afternoon under the din of that helicopter, which was being used by construction crews to carry massive light towers into position for installation at the various fields.
It was a reminder that soon Friday Night Lights will be a real thing for a bustling community hankering for its communal center piece. It was also a promise that the football team’s hard work, which began in December 2023, would soon be rewarded.
“We started this in December, in a weight room without weights,” Habing said. “We went through the offseason really working hard, but there’s always just been this promise of brand new equipment and a brand new field, this promise of home games with our entire neighborhood supporting us.
“That moment we all expected to happen now looks like it’s really going to happen. The final piece we were waiting for was the lights,” Habing continued. “The lights are finally here and the first one flew at 7:05 a.m. I ran out my door and watched that happen.”
Practice occasionally slowed Tuesday afternoon whenever the helicopter hefted another stanchion into the air.
“You could see the boys,” Habing said. “It was hard for me to keep their attention on the field today as our lights were flying behind the school. But it’s a big deal for us.”
Many of the upperclassmen on the Trailblazers’ first eight-man football team arrived in Babcock well before the football program began. Junior Alexander Pensabene-Davis and senior Adoni Edwards arrived at Babcock in 2022 but were among the first players Habing recruited.
The two played a variety of positions during practice, as is the case with most eight-man teams. The Trailblazers are hovering around the 40-player mark as the Aug. 16 opener approaches.
“It’s more difficult with eight men compared to 11 men,” Pensabene-Davis said.
“The responsibility,” Edwards said. “It really relies on each player to know their job and execute it perfectly because there’s really no room for error.”
In those earliest days, there were few tangible signs there would be a football program at Babcock. Habing’s offseason conditioning program — open to all athletes at Babcock — mustered just eight kids on its best days.
In December, weights arrived but there was no weight room. The football players got their exercise by carrying plates around the recreational field space in the school’s courtyard.
“We’ve been here since the beginning just trying to figure it out together,” Edwards said. “That just made us tighter as a team because it was the first year for everything.”
After Babcock received its formal approval from the FHSAA this spring, the final paperwork hurdle was cleared for the Trailblazers’ athletic program. While the football team will compete in the Sunshine Athletic Association during its years as an eight-man team, the remainder of the sports aim to compete for district titles as soon as possible.
Habing’s all-sports offseason conditioning program ballooned to 75 kids this past summer, including most of the football team.
“We had about 40 kids each day with strength and conditioning drills and agility drills and we spent an hour doing weightlifting,” Habing said. “What’s nice is to see the consistent improvement, and now that we’ve gotten out of the field, it’s really obvious. They just look like different athletes today than they did in May.
“There’s an energy and the kids are buying into it,” he continued. “You know, after about six or eight weeks, you really notice a change in your body. You can see the kids walking around a little bit different, their sleeves are tighter, the shirts are a little tighter. It’s fun to see the kids enjoy the fruits of their labor.”
Those fruits now give way to the main course, beginning two weeks from Friday on the road at Cornerstone Christian.
Pensabene-Davis and Edwards are eager to etch their names into the Trailblazers’ crisp, new record book.
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about it,” Pensabene-Davis said. “Can’t wait for the first game.”
The game was originally scheduled for Babcock, but the finishing touches on the stadium pushed back the Trailblazers’ home debut to Sept. 13.
Nothing ever goes smoothly when building a program — or an entire community — from scratch, so Habing and the players have taken the delay in stride. Like all things this grand experiment, the job will get done. The helicopter’s steady progress on Tuesday was proof.
That sort of faith in the process just means the home opener will be that much sweeter for all.
“There’s an energy among the kids and the staff and the community,” Habing said. “We’re excited.”
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