During a highly anticipated home-opener game, Park football started off strong during the first half but ultimately suffered a 7-31 loss against Apple Valley Sept. 14. Coach Alex Polk said the biggest downfall during the game was not following through on plays.
“As a defensive coach, a big piece is tackling. We would get to the spot but wouldn’t bring anybody down,” said Polk. “Having discipline is important, as well as knowing that we are going to get better.”
According to sophomore Josh Rickord, there were opportunities during the game to have done things differently, so he is looking forward to upcoming practices.
“We definitely had some easily fixable mistakes,” Rickord said. “We can hopefully fix them up in practice this next week and come back even better.”
Even when morale is low during a game, the score doesn’t always reflect how the team is actually performing, said sophomore Mason Helfmann.
“The best thing to do is don’t give up, get out there and fight back,” said Helfmann. “You look weak if you give up, so just keep working.”
According to Polk, the team works a lot during practice in understanding self awareness on the field.
“Ultimately just being smart about plays and putting yourself in a position to be successful,” said Polk. “Having players know where they need to be at the right time during drills.”
Rickord said that this season is an adjustment period, and that the biggest component that creates a successful team is good chemistry.
“Our entire O-line is basically new as well as our offense, half of them are sophomores,” said Rickord. “We’ve been learning team chemistry and getting it down as we work together.”
Helfmann said a large factor that keeps the team going when spirits are low is the loud, screaming student section.
“The student section is really energetic and fun,” said Helfmann. “They’re good at hyping us up, keep it going.”
The flock is gearing up to face Robbinsdale Cooper at 7:00 p.m. Sept. 21 at Robbinsdale Cooper High School.
