High school football has passed the midpoint of the season, and several local teams have learned a great deal about who they are and where they are headed down the stretch.
As a team evolves, new insights emerge through the season. Some take coaches by surprise, while others confirm expectations.
Centerburg (6-1) coach Andy Colella, whose Trojans have won six in a row following an opening loss to Utica, is impressed by the team’s attitude.
“The kids' willingness to be coached and their steady improvement thus far,” Colella said is a pleasant surprise.
Fredericktown (4-3) coach Will Hartley is pleased with how the Freddies have adapted to coaching.
“The biggest surprise has been how well we have adjusted to our new defense, which we installed this season, “ Hartley said. “ Our defensive coordinator, Kevin Berry, has done a great job putting our kids in a position to make plays.”
Ryan Goetzman, Cardington-Lincoln's (1-6) coach, praised his young team.
“We have had a lot of young kids step into very important roles so far this year,” said Goetzman. “They are doing a great job with those and continue to work hard throughout the year.”
Northmor (5-2) coach Scott Armrose is confident about what he’s seen from the Golden Knights.
“I’m not really surprised by anything with this football team,” Armrose said. “ We knew from offseason workouts how hard we would play and what competitors we are.”
Between practice and game reps, trends and tendencies have emerged, and coaches can identify areas of strength and need.
Colella stressed the day-to-day improvement he wants to see from his team, while Armrose continues to work on developing depth across all positions.
“When the injuries start to pile up, other people need to step up,” Armrose said.
Fredericktown and Centerburg are looking for improvement on the offensive side of the ball.
“The biggest area we need to work on is our passing game,” Hartley said. “We have struggled to become a balanced offense, and we need to do a better job of getting our athletes the ball in space.”
"We still need to work on creative ways to get our playmakers the ball,” Goetzman said. “We have done a pretty good job but need to grow and get stronger.”
Players get tired, the newness of the season has worn off, and maintaining focus is a must for any chance of success at this point in the season. As the game grind takes hold, coaches look for ways to keep the team motivated and focused. Most coaches take the day-to-day approach.
“After the week's over, take the weekend to hit the reset button and come in Monday ready to attack a new challenge,” Colella said.
“We just try and take it one game at a time,” Hartley said. “Each week is a new challenge.”
“I expect these young men to continue to fight and give all they have like they’ve done all season,” Armrose said. “We will continue to focus on one week at a time. Long-term goals take care of themselves if you get things done weekly.”
Goetzman feels that coaches as well as players must continue to seek motivation.
“To compete, we have to find ways to keep pushing ourselves and keep the effort we have been getting from them,” Goeztman said. “We just make sure we connect with the kids on a personal level. They know we as coaches care about them and want the best for them. As you build relationships, they are willing to grow and focus on the important things, which are being selfless for their teammates. They want to compete and get better; that's something that I applaud them for. They aren't satisfied with where we are, and they know we have the ability to correct that.”
