Sports has a way teach life lessons.

One of those is rebounding from tough days.

Last Friday night, Pine suffered a tough loss to Pope John Paul II, 19-18.

The Raiders were up 18-0 late in the third quarter, but Pope John Paul II eventually took the lead and held on for a win. Give PJP credit on the comeback. Despite being down, they continually came back.

For Pine’s players and fans, they likely realize that teams have lost big leads in sports. It happens.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the New Orleans Saints squandered a 21-0 lead to the Carolina Panthers. Eventually, the Saints won, but it was anything but cakewalk and it took a last second 52-yard field goal to do so.

In May, Arkansas’ baseball team led LSU, 9-1, only to lose the lead and fall 10-9 in 10 innings in the contest that featured the “Rally Possum.”

The big thing isn’t the loss. It’s rebounding from the setback and coming out with another solid performance.

Pine has had a lot of solid performances this year. The Raiders have played well all season. They are 5-3 and two of those losses have been by a combined six points. The other loss was a 19-0 defeat to powerhouse St. Helena College & Career Academy, who is 8-1 with six shutouts and 20 points in its eight games.

Tonight the Raiders travel to St. Thomas Aquinas as they attempt to bounce back from that tough loss to PJP. Good luck to Pine this week.