Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
It was the first loss by the Nouvel Catholic Central football team since the 2010 season, but it was one that will not derail the Panthers’ main goal of defending their Division 7 state championship.
Nouvel hosted Powers Catholic, the reigning Division 5 state champions, on September 14, fell behind early, and ultimately loss to the Chargers 34-12. Nouvel bounced back the following week with a Homecoming victory over Melvindale Academy.
The loss to Powers snapped the Panthers’ 16-game winning streak, one of the longest in the state, and it put Nouvel’s record at 3-1 through four games.
“After that game, we were obviously upset, but I thought it taught us a lot about who we are,” said senior captain Matt Ross, who plays guard and defensive tackle. “We know you don’t have to go undefeated to accomplish your goals [of winning a state championship.] We just need to learn from the loss and get better.”
Nouvel coach Mike Boyd says the loss to Powers Catholic was more of a mental breakdown than a physical breakdown.
“Powers is a very good team, and it certainly didn’t help that we helped them with three turnovers in the first half,” Boyd said. “Give a good team three turnovers and have a couple of penalties that gave them good field position in that first half, and they took advantage. Then they just wore us down on defense.”
Boyd admitted that the players took the loss hard but said the coaching staff looked at it differently.
“To lose, it means nothing,” Boyd said. “The schedule we have played, to be 3-1 through four games is good. The loss only means that we have one less game to win six and qualify for the playoffs. Other than that it doesn’t mean much, considering our schedule, which is one of the toughest we’ve had in the time I’ve coached here.”
Boyd said it’s time to get back to work and get better.
“We told the kids after the game, that is a good football team and we had some mental errors,” Boyd said. “We just have to clean up those mistakes.”
Ross agrees. “A lot of what we need to work on is the little things,” he said. “We need to be more focused in practice. I think we are a good team, we just need to take care of business.”
That’s all that Boyd wants. “All I have ever asked of my players is that they have a great attitude and a great effort,” said Boyd, who is in his 13th year of leading the Panthers. “Against Powers I got both of those, we just made too many mistakes against a good team. They know they can’t do that anymore.”