Post by jrkelly on Nov 4, 2010 20:12:28 GMT
Gentlemen,
I took this program over last summer. I was warned to stay away because this was a black hole. They were highlighted in Sports Illustrated in 1985 while they were in the midst of a 72 game losing streak that lasted from 1978 to 1986. The community nearly fell apart when the farm economy went to hell then, and the football program could do nothing to help with the pain. They did win the conference in the late 90's, but got upset out of the playoffs in the first round. The ONLY football memorabelia in the trophy case is a small plaque for the conference championship and a football from the game that snapped the streak.
We came into this season trying to set a tone for the program. It is in a small school that has not had a coach in the building for a very long time, and has had a revolving door between the last couple of coaches. On top of it all, administration has been the only thing with less stability than the football position. The school environment and discipline has been lacking. Luckily the new administration has been very supportive and want to get things changed...and it is happening.
Through this, we have put together a tough, scrappy football team that came into the section tournament as the 5 seed. We knocked off the 4 seed followed by the 1 seed to get into the section championship game. The school has never won two playoff games in a season. It has been a very long time since they have even won a single game. Now, we have a bunch of kids who are hitting like a ton of bricks, playing good defense, playing good special teams, and being very efficient on offense. Now we are set to play tomorrow night in the section championship, and the community's and the school's feet haven't hit the ground in a week. It is something that I have never seen before. I've seen community pride before, but this is beyond anything that I could have imagined--especially after the woeful past of this program. We have to play well to win this thing, but if we can tackle and play smart, sound, fundamental football we can do it! Say a prayer to the football gods for my boys, coaches. And good luck to all who are still playing this season.
I took this program over last summer. I was warned to stay away because this was a black hole. They were highlighted in Sports Illustrated in 1985 while they were in the midst of a 72 game losing streak that lasted from 1978 to 1986. The community nearly fell apart when the farm economy went to hell then, and the football program could do nothing to help with the pain. They did win the conference in the late 90's, but got upset out of the playoffs in the first round. The ONLY football memorabelia in the trophy case is a small plaque for the conference championship and a football from the game that snapped the streak.
We came into this season trying to set a tone for the program. It is in a small school that has not had a coach in the building for a very long time, and has had a revolving door between the last couple of coaches. On top of it all, administration has been the only thing with less stability than the football position. The school environment and discipline has been lacking. Luckily the new administration has been very supportive and want to get things changed...and it is happening.
Through this, we have put together a tough, scrappy football team that came into the section tournament as the 5 seed. We knocked off the 4 seed followed by the 1 seed to get into the section championship game. The school has never won two playoff games in a season. It has been a very long time since they have even won a single game. Now, we have a bunch of kids who are hitting like a ton of bricks, playing good defense, playing good special teams, and being very efficient on offense. Now we are set to play tomorrow night in the section championship, and the community's and the school's feet haven't hit the ground in a week. It is something that I have never seen before. I've seen community pride before, but this is beyond anything that I could have imagined--especially after the woeful past of this program. We have to play well to win this thing, but if we can tackle and play smart, sound, fundamental football we can do it! Say a prayer to the football gods for my boys, coaches. And good luck to all who are still playing this season.
