By GARY VAN CLEAVE
Special to Great Bend Post
Salina South’s football fortunes haven’t been so fortunate in the past eight years.
But the gridiron fortunes may be beginning to shift on Salina’s south side.
The Cougars’ culture is changing…..for the better.
“We’re trying to get ‘we’re gonna lose every game’ out of our mind and believe we can beat any team,” incoming junior wide receiver/KO and punt return man Jaxon Myers said. “Right now, we’re slowly working towards that and getting better everyday.”
The Cougars enter the 2024 season having lost 24 consecutive football games dating back to a 34-16 victory over Haysville-Campus on Sept. 17, 2021. They have lost 27 of their past 28 and 32 of their last 35.
Their last .500 or better season came in 2015 at 5-5.
“Believe in the coaches, working in the weight room, getting better every day,” Myers said on what it takes to change the culture of back-to-back winless campaigns.
“It’s been frustrating, some people just not wanting to work and get better. Last year people coming in thinking we’re not gonna win, we suck and all that but I can see the change coming,” Myers noted.
“We know what has to change. That starts by winning practice reps, weight reps and attendance,” junior Jalen Cheeks said. “We’re trying to put respect back into the program which will hopefully bring wins and more.”
“We might not be able to win every home game, but we want to win more than we lose and be better than people think,” junior tight end Bryce Doonan said. “We will be and come out on top with lots of touchdowns and wins.”
First-year coach Christien Ozores, who came from Russell, sees improvement in the making.
“The kids are starting to understand why the little things are so important in creating our own identity,” Ozores said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but you can see/feel the excitement from the kids with them gaining confidence.”
South’s opponents scored 50 points in six of their nine 2023 games in which they were outscored 473-129 on the season.
“I’m trying to establish a committed system that the underclassmen can look up to,” incoming senior quarterback Landon Putman said. “I also want to establish a work ethic that the program hasn’t seen for a long time. I want people to be held accountable all across the board. Even other sports at South. I want other sports to look at the football team and say ‘if they turned it around, we can too.’ “
It’s started with a commitment to greatness in the weight room.
“Conditioning has had a major increase in attendance,” Putman said. “The culture is starting to change. Everyone is not entirely bought in, but there has for sure been an increase in that as well.”
But it hasn’t been easy.
“It gets pretty difficult at times when learning new concepts, but starting to bond with the coaches has been easy,” Putman said.
Work ethics have been a focal point as well.
“Something where you’re not there to just check a box and say I went,” Putman said. “Something you do whether that’s practice, weights, or film, you are there to make yourself and others better. Not just show up on Friday nights and expect everything to go your way. You need to show up in June as well.”
“We have seen a lot of improvement especially with the fundamentals not just with football but in the weight room as well,” Ozores said. “Our change of direction and explosiveness has improved since February.”
“The atmosphere of the weight room is outworking the guy next to you,” Putman noted. “Seniors are doing a good job on showing the freshmen how to do proper lifts. The atmosphere of the locker room is professional. We are there to get our stuff and get out. No funny business.”