Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
After missing the high school football playoffs in 2010, the Carrolton Cavaliers appear to be back on track, moving to 4-0 with a 54-28 win over Michigan Lutheran Seminary Sept 17.
The Cavaliers made the playoffs in 2008 and 2009, Greg Wasmer’s first two years as head coach, but finished 2-7 last season.
“Obviously it wasn’t a good year,” Wasmer said. “We only had four seniors. We have (10) seniors this year and that has been the difference.”
On top of a surplus in senior leadership, the coach sees other differences as well.
“The work ethic is outstanding,” Wasmer said. “I told our kids we won our first two games of the year mainly because of our preparation in the summer. It certainly showed up in the first couple of weeks.”
It was quickly evident just how dominant the Cavaliers would be this season, as Derrick Nash returned the opening kick 92 yards for a score in their 56-0 week one win over the Elkton-Pigeon Bay Port Lakers. Cameron Goshke added an 18 yard fumble return for a touchdown before the the Cavs’ offense even touched the ball.
Week two saw the Cavs top Saint Louis 39-13. The game was highlighted by Goshke running for 190 yards and three touchdowns and Roman Mathews gaining 126 yards and two scores on the ground.
“They are a much improved team,” Wasmer said of the Sharks. “We were back and forth for a half with them and we were able to take control in the second half. Our kids made some big plays.”
Perhaps their biggest win to this point was their 27-7 week three victory over Merrill, a team that also traditionally contends for the post-season and Tri-Valley West titles.
“Our defense really stepped up,” Wasmer said. “We held Merrill to 109 yards of total offense. Our kids stepped up; the bigger the game the better they play.”
With the Cavs sitting at a perfect 4-0, needing just two more wins to qualify for the playoffs for the third time in Wasmer’s four seasons, he feels that his team is back to the level it should be.
“You have program ideals and our ideals are to be in the hunt for your league title every year and for the playoffs every year,” Wasmer said. “I had a hungry group of kids the first couple of years, and they were able to buy in. Last year, we didn’t buy in and we had a down year. This is the fourth year; usually it takes four or five years to get a program turned around. Hopefully last year was just a blip on the screen.”
Though Carrollton could be favored to win in several of its remaining games, the coach isn’t going to let his team just show up and expect wins to be handed to them.
“It’s the old standard quote, we’re just going to take it one game at a time,” Wasmer said. “We just want to get better in practice each day. It’s a long haul and our league is tough. Our kids understand that it is one week at a time, and we just have to work hard and prepare. Good things happen to teams that work hard, and that’s all that we’re going to try to do.”