SEELEY LAKE — Last year, the Seeley-Swan football team got its first taste of a winning season in years.
This season, the Blackhawks are now looking to build on the previous year’s success by having a strong will to win. And the intensity is high, as they've rolled their opponents en route to a 6-0 record.
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With eight seniors who experienced the playoff appearance of last year’s team, players like quarterback and linebacker Blake Irwin hope that this year, the Blackhawks can give their small town something to talk about.
“These are stories you can tell your kids,” Irwin said. “An undefeated Seeley-Swan season or you go deep in the playoffs, the story you can tell your kids, and it sticks in the community for a while because these folks love football.”
Third-year head coach and Seeley native Jacob Haley knows just how much a season of that magnitude would mean to the community.
With that in mind, Haley has focused on keeping his players motivated by making it clear that the time to win is now.
“Once you make the dance like we did last year, that was such a cool feeling,” Haley said. “A lot of these guys got to experience it, and they want more of it. So that's been a big motivator.”
However, when you speak to senior linebacker and running back Kolten Zurmuehlen, it is clear the players have built up their own expectations and plan to keep their high level of play going for the rest of the season.
“This is expected, we're expected to be undefeated this season,” Zurmuehlen said. “Playoffs is when our season should start, and that's the mindset we've had since the very first game. This is all just practice for playoffs.”
But no matter how the Blackhawks' season ends, coach Haley believes this season will be a success as long as his team seizes the moment.
“Wins are great and that's what you're striving for, obviously, but these kids, they feel like they gave it everything they had,” Haley said. “We've got eight seniors this year, and it's just letting them play as hard as they can and get the most out of their football season and football career.”
Seeley-Swan will kick off next against Darby at 7 p.m. Friday.
