Why Moniteau is ‘excited to play football again’ ahead of rivalry clash with Karns City
Sitting at 2-1, heading into a rivalry clash, Moniteau’s football team is in an unfamiliar position.
The Warriors are riding high.
“The kids are actually excited to play football again,” said first-year Moniteau coach Clay Kohlmeyer, whose program had gone 1-19 over the previous two seasons. “They kinda had a losing season the last couple years. ... They’re happy to be in it. They’re happy they’re competing.”
The Warriors’ opponent on Friday night, nearby Karns City, has taken notice of the shift before the matchup at Moniteau’s Luciano Plesakov Stadium.
“After watching some film on them and stuff like that, he has a system that he’s trying to install, and I think he’s doing a real good job at that,” Gremlins coach Joe Sherwin said. “They’re (getting) back to running the ball a little bit more often than maybe what they have in the past. ... It’s gonna take some time, but I think they’re definitely on the right track.”
On 45 gives, Moniteau’s Brendin Sankey has gone for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. He sits just ahead of Karns City senior Owen Heginbotham (23-236-1) on the Butler County-area leaderboard.
Fellow senior Hunter Scherer was the Gremlins’ leading rusher a campaign ago. He’s totaled 173 yards and five touchdowns on 25 carries thus far. Scherer and Heginbotham “are gonna be in there most often,” Sherwin said.
The Gremlins (2-1) gave up 56 points to visiting DuBois Area in a loss last week. They spent Monday poring over film and recognizing their mistakes.
“When you win games, maybe that focus isn’t necessarily there,” Sherwin said. “But yeah, you can learn a lot from defeats — and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Meanwhile, the Warriors are hoping to win their first in the series since 2018.
“I think we can play with them this year,” Kohlmeyer said. “I’m not gonna say we’re gonna go out and beat them, but I think we can actually make it a game and play with them. If we go out and hit them early and get a couple scores, I think our kids will be fine.”
And if Moniteau loses in a hard-fought battle?
“We’ll take a lot of positives away from that (with) the way it’s been the last couple years,” Kohlmeyer said. “Everything that we do good, we’re praising them for it and letting them know.”
