The statebound football team is more than just its players. It’s its coaches, its parents– and its athletic secretary.

For 11 years, athletic secretary Donna Moore has been in charge of organizing athletic games, ordering uniforms and equipment and supporting the sports teams, especially football.

“If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Moore, she is our athletic secretary who really kind of does it all,” head volleyball coach Melissa Miller said on the midweek coaches show on Dec. 12. “That title doesn’t do her justice.”

Moore spent the past few days filling out an exorbitant amount of paperwork for the team to compete on Friday and responding to the never-ending cycle of emails.

“At this point, she is running logistics on tickets, passes, hotel rooms, getting the boys there, the logistics of staying there, feeding the boys,” Miller said. “I mean her job is endless, and if you see her this week, you’re still gonna get a smile, but it’s going to be as she sprints by you to go do whatever her next job is in there.”

Despite how stressful her job can be, Moore loves helping out the athletic department.

“One thing I really like about this job is that it changes daily,” Moore said. “I don’t have time to get bored. You do have to be a very organized person (for this job) and that I am; I’m very organized and meticulous. I take this job a moment at a time. Whatever I need to do next is what I do.”

Moore is one of the football team’s biggest supporters, and she’s excited to see the team compete at state on Friday.

“I remember watching the team on the first day of spring ball, and I looked at (athletic trainer) Brian Zettler, and I said, ‘I’ve never seen this team so cohesive,’ and they’ve been that way all year,” Moore said. “You don’t have a lot of stars on the team. They’re all just teammates, and they work together. That’s why they’ve been so successful.”

Her support does not go unnoticed by the players, and junior safety P.K. Moeller said he was thankful for the behind-the-scenes work she does.

“She’s like a mom to us,” Moeller said. “She’s always around. She’s up there whenever we are, mornings and afternoons, so it means a lot to have someone like that around to just know that they care for us.”

Junior football player Cade Spradling sees Moore as a person who can always lift the mood for the team.

“She’s very hard-working, very kind, and just a fun person to be around,” Spradling said. “She’s always happy it seems. She’s always cracking jokes.”

But it’s not just the players who recognize her hard work and dedication to the team.

“Mrs. Moore is invaluable,” head football coach Larry Hill said. “She’s as vital a colleague we have in this organization. All the things she does behind the scenes, you know, arranging for travel, arranging for meals, working with stadium officials and going in advance to get all the details worked out, it allows us to stay on track.”

The football team is headed to the state championship for the first time since 2004, and Moore says it will be the highlight of her career to see them win it. But it’s not just the team that will be winning; Moore will too.

“I mean she is just an unsung hero in the athletics world on this campus, and her job was amplified by about a thousand this week, but you won’t hear her complain,” Miller said. “She loves those boys, loves those coaches, and she will do anything she can to help them this week.”