Entering the season, the MHS football team had a sour taste in their mouths that had lasted the entire offseason. The team was coming off the worst season in school history. No wins and nine losses. Whether it was comments in hall or jokes around the community, the Grizzlies were done laughing and ready to put that behind them.
"We wanted to prove everyone wrong," said junior running back Nik Patterson, "We were tired of the remarks."
"People didn't realize how close we were in every game last year," said junior quarterback Connor White, "Unfortunately, all people care about is the end result."
White is exactly right; it does not matter how the final score is obtained, the students, staff and townsfolk of McMinnville want to see a ‘W' in the score column.
The people of McMinnville got exactly that with the debut of the new FieldTurf® football field at Wortman Stadium on Aug. 29 when the Grizzlies took on the Warriors of Aloha. The Grizzlies opened up the 2008 season with a win, ending the streak that had stuck with the team for a year.
The Grizzlies began a bit more of a positive streak after their second game at Sunset. After a sloppy game, the Grizzlies came out victorious and had a winning streak.
After losing an overtime heartbreaker to the Gophers of Gresham, a long list of injuries seemed to strike the Grizzly team at a crucial time. Already not the deepest team as far as replacements by positions goes; the injuries seemed to add up quickly. It began at Sunset when senior running back Bryan Toft pulled his hamstring.
"It's tough when guys get hurt when every player is so vital to our success as a program," said Toft, "The way our offense and defense are set up, we need all eleven guys on both sides."
The Grizzlies forfeited eight starting athletes to injuries in Friday's match-up with Tigard.
"The hardest part is keeping morale up with injuries," said White, "You see your teammates struggling and you want to be out there with them, feeling their pain."
With injuries plaguing the Grizzlies as they have thus far, healthy athletes must stay flexible in their positioning. Patterson is atop the list of flexibility. He has been forced to learn the responsibilities of four positions on offense and five on defense.
"It's difficult during practice," said Patterson, "You try and devote yourself to one position as much as you can and try to get as many repetitions as possible."
Patterson credits the coaching staff for spending extra time with him to learn all his responsibilities with the plethora of positions he is playing.
The Grizzlies are continuing to work hard in practice and getting better in the games. Despite an injury filled season, the Grizzlies were 2-4 entering last Friday's game. The Grizzlies' next game is Friday at Forest Grove at 7 p.m.