A deceptive calm blankets Raines High School on a sunny Tuesday morning.

While their classmates enjoy a Veterans Day break, the Vikings’ football players split into offensive and defensive units, working in measured silence.

But the peace doesn’t last long.

As the units merge for full-team drills, The Graveyard erupts.

Coaches bark out formations. Players shout defensive reads. Trash talk slices across the line of scrimmage.

Then comes the crack of pads meeting pads – a sound that pierces through the chilled November air.

The Vikings aren’t just preparing for playoffs; they’re unleashing a new level of intensity as they eye a state championship run.

“Regular season, we were going 110% and now it’s we’re going 210%,” offensive lineman McKinley Alexander IV said. “Got to bring way mor

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