Resilience marks this years' Badgers
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November 14, 2013 |
By Coach Ed DePriest
Although it was not the way any Badger player or
fan would have liked, the 2013 football season
came to an end in Homedale Saturday with a 67-0
loss to a very strong Homedale team.
The Badgers played very well in the first
quarter, holding the high powered Trojan offense
to no points. The Badger plan was to keep the
ball away from the Homedale offense, which was
working until a miscue on a fourth and one at
mid-field caused the Badgers to turn the ball
over.
Homedale capitalized and took the lead moments
later. An interception, short punt, and some
missed assignments resulted in a blitz of 33
points in an eight minute period to give
Homedale a 33-0 lead at halftime.
Homedale took the second half kickoff down the
field and scored. The remainder of the game saw
all players seeing playing time in what was the
last game for the Badger seniors.
This 2013 season was the culmination of a
challenging four years for this senior class.
Having five coaches over the four year period,
these seniors have to be given kudos for
sticking it out and turning around last year’s
0-8 season into a winning regular season of 5-4
and a trip to the state playoffs.
As was the last Badger football team's trip to
state in 2010 against Fruitland, these Badgers
drew their first state playoff game against what
may end up being the eventual state champions in
Homedale.
When looking at the season, the Badgers losses
came at the hands of some very strong teams.
Freeman of Washington is undefeated and quite
possibly a state champion. Orofino was 8-1 with
their only loss coming to perennial power
Grangeville. Timberlake played Fruitland tough
before falling last weekend, and Homedale, who
beat Fruitland 35-13 earlier this season, could
very well end up a state champion.
These Badgers never gave up and came from behind
in games against Libby and Medical Lake for
wins. Although many times over-matched in
numbers and size, the Badgers played hard to the
end of every game this season.
If one word were to describe this team, it would
have to be resilient.
The loss of two two-way players mid-way through
the season and a couple of players due to
athletic code violations 24 hours before the
Homedale game, presented many Badger players the
opportunity to step up and contribute.
These players and the team were able to adjust
and finish the season with wins over Priest
River and Kellogg to qualify for state.
The Badgers will lose the following seniors:
Kyler Rice, Connor Bennett, Bryan Youmans, Josh
Pluid, Christian Trocke, Matt Sabin, Anthony
Skeen, Sean Varelman, Jack Rossi, Robert
Swanson, Mat Kramer, Cody Luckey, Travis Beck,
Quinn Cummings, Chase Hannahs, Brandon Newsom,
Jonathon Gaspar, Parker Davis, and Wyatt Snider.
These seniors demonstrated Badger pride
throughout their careers and, as with all Badger
football alumni, are now members of a very
special group who will forever be Badger
football players.
As we look to the future, we must acknowledge
and address some realities. The games that the
Badgers lost were to teams who were bigger,
faster and stronger.
They got that way because they have paid the
price of hard work in the off-season.
If we want to compete with the likes of Freeman,
Timberlake, and Homedale, we must, as players,
coaches, parents, and a community, commit to
doing what is necessary to get bigger, faster
and stronger.
To meet this challenge will take sacrifice and a
team effort.
It will mean a consistent off-season commitment
to weight-lifting and conditioning. You don’t
win games from August to November, you win games
by what you do from January to August.
If we all don’t make this commitment, then not
much will change. We will win a few, lose a few,
and most likely have the same results as we have
the past five to ten years.
Again, I would like to offer a huge thank you to
this year’s team and those 19 seniors who are
now moving into the next phase of life. Your
efforts this season can be the catalyst for a
positive change in the direction of Badger
football.
As I have said before: As Badger alumni, take
the opportunity, whenever possible, to come back
and give back to the Badgers of the future. Good
luck in whatever direction your lives take you,
and thank you. |
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