 The Brainerd Boys soccer team is off to a fast start at 3-1 this year, but this season, for the Warriors, it's about more than just what the scoreboard reads at the end of the game. Sports reporter Anthony Scott has more. It was a shock. Over the off season, the Brainerd Boys soccer team was faced with a challenge bigger than anything that could happen on the field, when one of their teammates, Jake Hapa-Joki, took his own life. It was unbelievable. I remember waking up that day and I got a text and I looked at my phone and I said, it's not him. I called two people I thought it might have been. Both answered, got to school, heard it was him and it was just heartbreaking. At the beginning of the season, the Brainerd soccer team made sure Hapa-Joki will remain a warrior forever. We have retired his jersey, so that's uh, nobody will ever wear that jersey again. This tragedy has brought the Warriors close together like never before. Our team is is really closer than ever this year. Uh, no, no hard feelings between anyone. Everyone's really close. It's a tight night, you know, little family. And this season will be played with a little extra motivation. And then we're just dedicating the season. It's this one's different. The season's for Jake. Even if you don't know him, he's still made an impact and he will ever make forever make an impact on the Brainerd soccer team. The team remembers Jake before every game with a prayer and all the bonding is now helping the team on the field. I think it really brings up our communication and it really helps us be focused and determined. Right side, right side, right side. The Warriors are off to a three in one start, averaging more than three goals a game. So far, I've liked what I've seen, you know, they're gelling, you know, they're still getting used to playing at this high intensity level compared to a JB level. For the seniors who know what it's like to play at the varsity level, it is now or never for that state tournament run. The first day of tryouts, I was driving two tryouts and I just thought to myself, I was like, this is our last chance, right? There's five or six of us and it's our last run. And if we don't get our goal state, there's no, there's no, there's no coming back. The Warriors will be playing with heavy hearts all season as they try to make that state tournament run reporting from Brainerd, Anthony Scott, Lakeland news. A few members on the team created an organization and Jake's honor to help improve mental health in their school called the Lighthouse Project. For more information, check out the story on our website, LPTV.org. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.