Ron and Mary Schwab no longer have a son in the Aberdeen Roncalli football program, but the local couple can still be found in the stands every Friday night.
"We're still going to the games and we did before we had kids on the team," said Ron.
Those days were a long time ago because it has been nearly two decades since the Green and Gold did not have a Schwab in uniform.
The Schwabs had five sons (Ryan, Andrew, Chris, Anthony and Jonathan) who all played for the Cavaliers. Interestingly enough, all were linemen.
Mary Schwab still isn't quite sure how that happened.
"I don't know, because the older ones were kind of small," she said. "I remember saying to the coach, 'They're not big enough to be linemen,' and he said, 'They're as big as we've got.' "
There was only one year in the past 19 seasons where the Schwabs didn't have at least one son on the varsity roster, and that year, they had a son on the junior varsity squad. And in the past two decades, the parents missed only two games total, home and away.
"I kind of enjoyed the whole ride," Ron Schwab said, regardless of the outcome of the contests. "The best part was you got to meet a lot of nice kids and a lot of nice parents."
The Schwabs said they were able to sit back and relax during the games, even though their sons were engaged in physical battles.
"I didn't go down on the field if they got injured, either," Mary Schwab said. "I wouldn't know what I would do anyway."
While Mary Schwab said she was never concerned for her sons' safety, she did add, "We made friends with the orthopedic people."
Football has always been a way of life for Ron and Mary Schwab, long before they had five sons and a daughter. Ron Schwab also played at Roncalli and Mary Schwab grew up in Eureka around the game.
"I had eight brothers and they all played football, too," she said. "Football was always kind of important."
Ron Schwab said the best advice he was able to give his gridiron sons was to "enjoy the game and enjoy your teammates and don't take it too seriously."
That mantra is something that the Schwabs have lived out in the stands and will likely continue to do for years to come.
"It's a little different," Ron Schwab said of attending games now without having a son involved anymore, "but I'm still excited. That's my entertainment."
Twitter: @DaveVilhauer