Wildcats season comes to an unfortunate end, but the team is thankful for what they had

 

October 28, 2020

The Harlem Wildcat Football team had a tough go of things in a lot of respects this year. They were shorthanded with just 12 players eligible to play and only eleven dressed in each of their four games they were able to play.

They were also under the direction of a new coaching staff headed up by Head Coach Derek Azure and Assistant Coach Ken Mount.

That being said, everyone involved in the program bought in to what the coaching staff was trying to bring about. That being hard work, dedication to the team and discipline. Azure is steadfast on being physically prepared and when you play 11 man football with only 11 players you need to be physically prepared.

In addition, the Wildcats were facing the stigma of not having any success in recent years. The senior on the team had yet to taste victory on the field. That changed this fall when the Wildcats won their first two contests of the season over Poplar and Wolf Point.

After suffering losses to Round-up and Glasgow to even their record at 2-2 the team learned of an even bigger obstacle to overcome, one that in the end became insurmountable.

The final week of September saw their season come to a screeching halt when the school board elected to suspend all fall sports due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Blaine County.

On Monday, October 12, several student athletes spoke at the school board meeting regarding their desire to resume the season and finish it as best they could. The Board allowed for resumption of fall sports and the Wildcat football team began preparations for two games in one week.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of available players the Wildcats were forced to conclude their season.

The players were obviously disappointed and the timing hurt as well. The team was gaining traction on the field of play and they had worked so hard to earn those first wins for the program.

In turn I asked several of the players their feelings about the season and how it turned out and what it meant to them. Here are some of their responses.

Cassius Johnson, No. 70, Offensive/Defensive tackle: "The season was a tough one because there was only 12 players, but coach Derek and coach Kent made us work hard in practice so we can be ready to play the whole game. I just know that if you work hard at something you will eventually succeed."

Amari Stanley, No. 13. "The way I can sum it up is I was proud of every single person on my team. Every game we played was a team fought battle, even if we lost we knew everyone gave that game their all. This season was my favorite one out of all three years I've played. That 'Community' support really helps because it motivates me to try to do my best on the field every play and makes me want to put in that extra work after school and in the off season."

Michael King III, Junior, Offensive Tackle and Defensive End. "Sure that kind of pride is something everyone should be thinking about constantly. As my coach would say 'I want to be a winner in every thing even if it's writing my own name.' That is something I'll carry with me forever."

Mikkel Rider, Jr. Quarterback. "It was a pretty good season for all of us you know like we went 2-0 at the start that's something Harlem football hasn't done for awhile. It's the best season I've had my entire football career and we only got half of it. Definitely a confidence booster on all of us." Zach Kinyon, Senior. " This season was a very memorable one, my teammates and I fought for every win we had and also every loss. I'm sad it ended how it did but it is what it is."

Andrew Rasmussen, Running Back, Cornerback, senior. "My team and I definitely didn't want the season to end the way it did. We had a lot of hope to make the playoffs with the talent that we had around us. For the season we had it was definitely better then past memories. We learned to work together and play as the team we had been for years. The support we gained from everyone definitely means a lot to us. We came into the season with the aspirations to maybe see our family's at the games but after the first win we saw a that lot more people wanted to come. To me the support meant everything. It's been a long time since I have had fun playing ball. This year was definitely the most fun I have had. I will take everything my coaches taught me to college. I plan on playing football at the next level and the lessons I have learned from my coaches is gonna help me overcome any obstacle that gets thrown at me."

 
 

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