SYCAMORE, Ohio — It's Thursday night in Sycamore.
The Calvert Senecas football team makes its way from the locker room to Warrior Field for the season opener on the road at Mohawk. But before the team can take to the gridiron, they take part in a pre-game ritual going back almost two decades: the rousing words of "Seneca Sue."
A woman, who, at first glance, appears to be mild-mannered, is in fact, a ferocious advocate for her team. She promptly gathers the players and showers them with encouragement before finishing with a call and response:
"Hit 'em hard."
"Never quit."
"All in."
"Tiffin."
"Calvert."
Suzanne Smith, or "Seneca Sue" as she's better known, is a self-described transplant from nearby Upper Sandusky. Smith moved to the Tiffin community in the late 60s, with five children coming up through the Calvert school system.
"We're a very small school, so it's seeing the same people in the stands every week," Smith said.
Smith began her staunch support for the Senecas in the 1980s around the time of the football team's back-to-back state titles in 1980 and 1981.
"Having someone come up to you years later and say 'Oh I remember you, you used to ...,'" Smith said. "That's fun."
You can usually see "Seneca Sue" up against the fence and as close to the team as she can get.
Smith's youngest grandchild is entering high school next year. She anticipates she'll be giving pregame speeches at least long enough to see them through graduation.
"The reward is family," Smith said. "Watching these young men give their hearts and souls for their teams. All of the teams work really hard. That's the reward."
The Senecas opened the season with a 14-12 win on the road at Mohawk.
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