HASKELL — It has been seven years since the Haskell Indians finished on the high side of .500 in football.
In 2015 under coach Grady Benton, the Indians posted a 7-4 mark. And before that, it hadn’t been done since 2009 under coach Kent Colley. Consecutive winners haven’t occurred at Haskell since 2004-07 under Brad Brunson (now the defensive coordinator at Cisco).
There are, however, some rumblings currently going on at Haskell that the long drought could be coming to an end — spurred on by a highly motivational second-year coach (Mitch McLemore) and an extremely large group of seniors for a Class 2A DII team (15).
“They’ve proven that they’re committed to being a part of something bigger than themselves,” said McLemore of his seniors. “They’ve been a part of athletics since the seventh grade and haven’t wavered.
“Not only that, but their maturity level has grown by leaps and bounds, which is something that any coach will tell you accelerates what you’re trying to accomplish and we’re fortunate that we had them as juniors last year. …. Now we have them back as the senior leaders and I think that’s going to be a huge thing for us. They’ve done a tremendous job leading in the weight room and academically and they’re just a special group.”
History, believe it or not, is actually on Haskell’s side.
In all of his second seasons as a head coach during stops at Junction, Big Spring and Petrolia, McLemore’s teams have improved dramatically in the win column with jumps of (+4), (+3) and (+4) victories, respectively. He successfully turned losing programs into winners at Junction and Petrolia and earned playoff berths at all three stops.
“I’ve been doing this 30 years,” said McLemore, who was a valued assistant at Stamford when the Bulldogs took state championships under Wayne Hutchinson in 2012 and 2013. “And (our seniors’) commitment to really wanting to do something special is very high.
“They’re self-motivated. We do our part to motivate them and all that, but they do a lot of it themselves. And if they’re not getting a rep, they’re helping to coach the sub-varsity and helping our coaches.”
There is also an uncommon level of closeness among Haskell’s 12th-graders, who are, more often than not, congregating together around town or on campus.
“We’ve been hanging out together almost every day,” said senior Brock Bridges. “We’ll go workout together, then we’ll hang out and someone’s house. We do everything together.
“We’re trying pretty hard to get everyone to follow our footsteps in doing what’s right and to play hard.”
All of Haskell’s current seniors have competed together in multiple sports since middle school and made the climb to varsity as the program posted seasons of 5-6, 4-7, 3-8, 2-7 and 4-7 during that timespan.
The Indians have been to the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, but posting a winning mark has remained elusive.
To say they’ve gotten sick of it is an understatement.
“It means a lot to our senior group to (try to) win a district title, win some gold balls and set the tone,” senior Marquis Johnson said. “I’ve put a lot of work in to do whatever the team needs me to do in the weight room and off and on the field”
The finality of it all, coupled with years of physical investment, is something this large group of seniors doesn’t want to waste.
“This is probably the last year I’ll ever play football,” senior Eli Peacock said. “Plus the fact I’ll get to play one more time with the guys who I’ve played with since the seventh grade and since elementary school on the playground.
“It’s just really special.”