By Jesika Henson

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After the game on Friday, Oct. 17 against the Kaiser High School Cougars, the MHS varsity football team is one step closer to winning the state championship, taking home a score of 54-17 and the week after on Oct. 23, they won against the Campbell High School Sabers with a score of 47-15.

“For us, attitude is everything,” said Head Coach Rod York. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 4’4”, 100 pounds, (as long as) you have good attitude (and) you work hard, we’ll work with you.”

Even after making their way off the field, the players were elated by their win against Kaiser. “As a player it felt really great to have beaten Kaiser, mainly because it means we get to continue into the rest of playoffs,” said Left Tackle Senior Antonio Ala. Linebacker Junior Taylor Sanney added, “It shows that all the hard work we put in the offseason is finally paying off.”

In order to prepare themselves for this and any other games, the players trained themselves both physically and mentally, in order to play their best. “We started Feb. 1 and we do stuff like beach runs, we do intense circuit training, weight lifting, we run a lot, you know, we run hard, it’s just mostly the mental grind,” stated York. “Well, physically, we just practice hard every week and make sure that we take care of any injuries we have,” Sanney said, “Mentally, Coach York stresses (to us) to focus on our opponents and no one else, and to always stay humble and hungry.”

As teamwork is such a crucial element to success, the players must be able to act cohesively and rely on one another while simultaneously being reliable. “(There are) 11 guys on the field and they all can’t be doing their own thing, it’s gotta be 11 out of 11 working together,” explained York. Ala added, “I (always) think about the people I’m doing it for and I do it for my brothers on the team, the guys next to me because they are the only people who can help me on the field and they are counting on me to do my job.” Sanney also added, “I think that if we do our jobs and execute (them) like Coach York tells us to do, then we’ll be okay.”

Despite all of the skill that the players acquired throughout the season, they still remain humble. “Kaiser is a good team and they normally score like 30-something points minimum (during games) and we (were able to hold) them below that,” said York. Ala added, “I feel like the defense did a really great job stopping the run game and they forced turnovers all night long. On offense we just kept driving up the score and we used every opportunity that the defense gave us.”

With another win against Campbell behind them, York and his team hope to take the title of state champions, after their near-win last year against the Punahou Buff n’ Blue, a game that ended with a score of 37-6.

Disclaimer:

This story was written prior to the OIA championship game against the Kahuku Red Raiders.