FFE Preview: William Byrd

VINTON, Va. (WDBJ) – After a historic 2023 season, the William Byrd football team looks to keep that momentum going this year.

Last season was the best season in school history for the Terriers, finishing 12 and 2 and making it to the semifinals of the state championship.

Liberty Christian Academy held William Byrd from reaching the state finals, but the program's development over the past few seasons is clear to see.

Just three years ago, the Terriers had a record of 0-9, and in 2022 it was 3-7.
Head coach Brad Lutz said the expectations for this team are still based on hard work and that he could describe this group with one word, which is “loyalty.”

“I think that's a word we use a lot in our program,” Lutz said. “I've said this to a lot of people over the last year: We live in a world where when things get tough, people run away, and these kids didn't do that. When we were zero and nine, we didn't lose numbers, we didn't have kids leave. We didn't have kids that didn't want to go through the tough stuff because they felt like there was no faith or substance in it. The kids that are here that have been through tough times have stayed loyal to us. And I mean, what else could you ask of a person, whether it's a teammate or a parent or a teacher or a coach? You want loyalty, and these kids have done that. So that's one of the things that I'm proud of, and our coaching staff is proud of … is how loyal these kids have been, and that might be the biggest lesson they've learned so far in all of this.”

“This year, a lot of our guys on offense and defense have left a lot of players behind, but we don't really want to live up to them, we want to exceed that,” said William Byrd senior Jerrett Shepherd. “I think we have the same goal. We have the same goal of getting to the state semifinals and even getting further.”

The Terriers begin their season away against the Liberty Minutemen.

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