Sometimes some of the youngest can make us the proudest.

Or they can help bring a town, community and even an area together.

Kinder High School’s football team did just that.

During their two-year run, the Yellow Jackets won far more than their share of games and gave the small town of Kinder a large portion of the Friday night attention.

Kinder’s hopes of becoming the first Lake Area football team to win back-to-back state championships since World War II came to an end last weekend in New Orleans.

The Yellow Jackets fell to top-seeded Many 22-15 after having beaten the same team a year earlier to claim the 2A championship.

It was a heartbreaking way to end an otherwise heart-warming story.

For 25 straight games before, the Yellow Jackets proved unbeatable. They won close games and by lopsided scores, but all the time they did it with style and class.

Last year, just moments after capturing the championship, then senior quarterback Austin Pickle was caught on camera consoling a devastated Xavier Dias, his Many counterpart.

It showed the best of Kinder’s class.

Friday night the shoe was on the other football, as Many players tried to help several Yellow Jackets through the disappointment. Many’s team had learned from Kinder the year before.

In doing so, both teams proved it is far more important how you win or lose rather than if you win or lose.

It is the greatest lesson sports can give us, and is often lost in today’s world of win at all costs.

But all good things do come to an end, as it was for Kinder. Still, the memories will last a lifetime.

Along their journey, these Yellow Jackets took the entire area’s football community on a fun ride as fans from all over Southwest Louisiana got behind the Yellow Jackets.

Their winning streak is a tribute to not only the players and coaches but also parents and fans who have been behind this team from the very start.

“This has been a great run. It was a special two years by a special group of players,” head coach Bret Fuselier said late Friday night.

The most impressive thing about this team is how the town of Kinder got behind it.

Sports is even more important in smaller towns, where the high school players become local celebrities during their time in the spotlight. Often that can lead to big heads and even bigger troubles for the kids.

That never happened with this group, which seemed more mature than their years.

It is also great to see a community get behind its sports team.

The Yellow Jackets became a team not only the city of Kinder could be proud of but also the rest of the area. One loss doesn’t change any of that.(Rick Hickman/American Press)