2015 U.P. Football Preview: Gwinn
GWINN — The old adage says you gotta start somewhere and sometimes that somewhere is the bottom. Eminem, Oprah Winfrey, Sylvester Stallone…rags to riches stories we hear over and over again. Which is why there is always hope for a team like the Gwinn Modeltowners.
Although it’s a team with less than 20 varsity athletes, it just means twice as much preparation and much more attention to detail. The Modeltowners are well aware of their team history and they are intent on turning things around.
“We haven’t had a winning season in 15 years so our biggest thing is just effort. Go out there and compete with each other. It’s a friendly competition and just go out there and have fun. It’s all about bringing out those competitive juices in the guys and have fun with each other. The effort has got to be there. That one big block could be a game–winning touchdown so just go out there and have fun,” head coach Dion Brown said.
“Just to make the playoffs…everyone says states and we’re just looking for playoffs. We haven’t been to the playoffs since 1999 or something. We’re just trying to make it big this year. We’re going to start the winning streak now or try to,” said senior fullback/safety Devin Dachs.
“We just need a winning atmosphere. We haven’t won in a while and I think if you build a couple wins up, it will start leading to more. I’m just hoping we have winning season instead of 1–8 like last year,” junior quarterback Kevin Roberts said.
The turnaround won’t be easy but there are some things that the team is excited about and they’re convinced that this year will be different.
“I like the effort that we put against offense…how we’ll get to our blocks, run as hard as we can. There’s always going to be a play messed up or two. But we tell them “guys get up” and run it again,” Dachs said.
“Defense, we just fly around the football. I think we’re going to be a lot better on defense this year than any previous Gwinn team we’ve had out here in about ten, fifteen years so I’m excited about that one,” said Brown.
The Modeltowners open the season on the 28th at home against Gladstone.