Last year the Panthers had a total of 27 players and 13 of them were seniors. This season they only have 22 players and 7 seniors. The numbers speak for themselves, but the dwindling number of players isn’t the only problem for this young team.
Junior running back Noah Sandecki acknowledges that the team is struggling and recognizes that they have low numbers, but he also thinks that effort plays a factor.
“We struggle as a team, and we just don’t have many kids. I just don’t think we realize we’re playing a football game until the second half. By then I feel like it usually is too late and makes it harder to win,” Sandecki said.
Similarly, senior Brock Rochow thinks that team could be putting in more of an effort. He notices a lack of effort in the classroom and that football players are skipping school, which means they cannot participate in practices or games. This lack of effort then translates onto the field.
“Players think it’s ok to have a lack of effort in their academics,” Rochow said. “If they lack effort in the classroom, they won’t be allowed to play, so our team suffers from that. People also skip practice, and when they do, it just brings the whole morality down.”
Junior Linebacker Brandon Hamlett wishes that there was more discipline for the athletes who aren’t showing leadership and commitment to the team. He recognizes the varsity football team seems to lack discipline, and this lack of discipline could be one factor holding the Panthers back and not allowing them to reach full potential.
“I feel like we need more disciplinary actions, especially for the older group because we’re not being held to a higher standard,” Hamlett said.
In the off-season, football players, freshmen through the upcoming seniors, attended a leadership class where they talked about raising the standard in punishment for not following the rules of bad behavior. However, Hamlett thinks that not much of what they were taught at the leadership class is being implemented.
“Upperclassmen are allowed to push around the younger groups, and it doesn’t allow for us to come together as a team,” Hamlett said. “Therefore, not allowing us to work as a solid unit to win games. Also, they allow the upperclassman to change everything to their needs and not keep it to what everyone in the leadership group agreed upon.”
This season isn’t the only season the Panthers have struggled, starting this season off 0-4. The panthers have long been notorious for losing, with only 1 winning records in the past 7 years. Although it may seem that maybe the football program just lacks the talent, that usually is not the case. Former Stockbridge football player Drew Robinson speaks on what he thinks the panthers need to do each week to improve.
“We have always had the talent to be good. We just needed to find what game plan really works for the team and stick to it rather than trying something different each week just because the game plan from the week before didn’t work,” Robinson said.
Although the Panthers have started off 0-4, their record doesn’t tell everything. There have been four out of five winnable games that they just couldn’t finish, losing to Union City by 13, Bronson by 6, Springport by 9, and lastly Reading by 7. The panthers look to improve and keep working hard so they can finish out these close games.
“The team has been fighting hard,” volunteer assistant coach Gary Teague said. “We’ve been in just about every ball game, we just need to get over the hump now. We just need to continue to work hard and become closer as a team.”
