Ben Whitehead
The Duncan Banner
COMANCHE —
A new coach and the loss of 13 seniors would have most high school football teams trying to start from scratch.
Not Comanche.
Steve Justus spent the 2009 season on the sidelines for the Indians as an assistant coach and took over for former head coach Brent Clark after the season.
Justus knows the reality of the coaching world. There is no next year, only this year. And it’s that mentality that he’s implementing in his practices as the Indians prepare for what they hope is a playoff season in 2010.
“For me, for our players, our fans and anyone in the program, we don’t want to wait until next year,” Justus said. “We want to have a game plan that will allow us to compete this year. To heck with next year, we want to win this year.
“My expectation is to put a good football team on the field and compete every week.”
Comanche has just three seniors on this year’s squad, one of whom is playing football for the first time. It’s the corps of juniors that Justus said will have to be the ones to step up and be leaders for this team.
“We’ve got really good, quality kids and last year’s record doesn’t speak to how well our kids competed,” said Justus. “For four quarters, they gave great effort and lost a lot of tough ballgames. It was a testament to coach Clark for having those guys ready to go. What we have to do this year is duplicate that to see who will step up.
“We don’t have a great number of seniors, but we preach daily that leaders don’t have to be seniors. They can come from any level. We have to have someone step up. Guys like Johnny Heath, Garrison McCauley, Kale Clinkenbeard are leaders both physically and vocally. They’ve stepped to the forefront on and off the field — offensively, defensively and in the weight room. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Another key to success for the Indians is keeping the team mindset. Justus knows that in games certain players will step up. In practice, however, he wants there to be a competitiveness that keeps the guys fired up and knowing that they have to give their all to play in the next game.
“In order to create a team atmosphere, every player has to have the chance to be a contributor,” he said. “We want all of our guys to compete week in and week out for playing time. I would much rather have 11 players on the field at one time who are doing the right things and doing an outstanding job, than to have one key player.”
The new season begins Thursday, Sept. 2 when Comanche travels to Velma-Alma. Last season, the Indians topped V-A 15-8 at home and Justus knows getting off on the right foot would be huge.
“It’s a grudge match, that’s for sure,” said Justus. “It was a close game last year and it’ll be big for whoever opens the season with a win.”
— Ben Whitehead is the sports editor for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 255-5354, Ext. 165, or via e-mail at ben.whitehead@duncanbanner.com.
