A new league, a new outlook, and a new reason for pride entering its 2023 season opener on Friday.
That's where the Clay football program stands this week – looking forward to a long-awaited move to the Northern Lakes League with a feather already in its hat, so to speak.
The Eagles were the winners of The Blade’s recent best helmet contest, a competition voted on by readers that concluded on Monday.
Weekly matchups in the contest started on July 31 with 16 teams in a bracket format. Eight teams advanced to the second round, four teams to the third round, and two teams remained for the final round.
Clay battled Southview in the final round, ultimately winning by a vote of 58.3 to 41.7 percent.
The Eagles’ design features a yellow-gold base with large green eagle feathers that wrap around to the back of the helmet. These feathers are matched by a subtle feather pattern on Clay's jersey numbers.
“Alex Szigeti, a former assistant coach, came up with the idea for the wings,” Clay head coach John Galyas said. “It is based loosely off one of the helmets that the University of Oregon has worn.
“Coach Szigeti spoke with our Riddell [helmet manufacturer] rep, who then put us in touch with an artist at Riddell. They developed the design and helmet decal. When we unveiled it to our team back in 2018, the players really liked it. The helmet decal goes really well with the feather pattern in our numbers on our jerseys.”
Players enjoy the uniqueness of the pattern.
“It’s not just our logo,” junior receiver Troy Hazuda said.
Added running back Grady Spears: “We think it’s the best helmet around.”
First Published August 16, 2023, 1:32 p.m.
