Additional games helped New London endure

NEW LONDON — Just one glance in any direction told the story. As New London football head coach Kemmes Keys glanced over the field, he saw his 11 players looking for instruction. Just 10 players in uniform stood on the sideline with him. The stands were nearly empty, with plenty of space and seating room in the bleachers on a cold, dreary and overcast Saturday morning. This wasn't the "Friday night lights" atmosphere that anyone had anticipated. But it was the one they fought for. Cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 season could not have gone worse for the Wildcats program. Through seven games, they allowed 62-plus points three times, and 51 points in another. That included a 69-6 loss at Liberty Center in a Division VI playoff game that dropped them to 0-7 this season and 2-35 since 2017. In this unconventional season, teams have the option to schedule as many as four more regular season games after the statewide playoffs, as long as they are played by Nov. 14. Given the roster numbers and lack of competitiveness, few would have blamed New London if the decision was made to end the season after the 63-point loss at Liberty Center on Oct. 10. And that idea was suggested. But internally, it wasn't seen an option. "That situation was approached (to not play), but I told our administrators, 'look, I'm not cheating these kids out of playing more games,'" Keys said. "They are promised 10 games in a season in a normal year, and if we can get as many as we can, that's what we want to do. "When you see kids work hard to prepare (for a season), you want them to get the most out of that," he added. "We have a good group of seniors who, in my three years here, have done everything we've asked them to do — even working around living in a pandemic." Now, because they scheduled additional games, the Wildcats are on a winning streak. They beat Strasburg-Franklin, 39-14, on Oct. 16, then topped Bucyrus, 41-13, on Saturday. So what's the big deal? In just two weeks, New London has won as many games as it has in its previous 37. The winning streak? It's the first in exactly five years, stretching back to wins over Plymouth and Crestview in the eighth and ninth games of the 2015 season. "I think anyone who wanted us to stop playing after the seven games doesn't know how it feels to be a high-school student-athlete in 2020," senior running back and defensive back Kenyon Cathey said. "For some of us kids, this is all we got. Some people just think, 'well, it's football. It's just a game.' But it means more than that to a lot of us." Keys is perfectly aware of his record since becoming head coach in 2018, as well as the record before he arrived. He doesn't need affirmation that the two wins are a big deal, because he sees it up close. "Sure, it's been a struggle," Keys said. "I've been telling them ever since that playoff game that we were scheduling four more games for the senior class. We told them they would have the chance to go out as winners, and for the underclassmen, it means they can have something to build upon for 2021." Keys is approaching the final month with clarity. "It's either fight or fight," he said. "I don't run from anything. And as long as I'm here, I'm not going to teach these kids to run from anything. "We could have packed it in, threw in the towel, or whatever expression you want to put on it, but no. Let these kids go out and fight as teammates and whatever happens will happen." Enduring blowout losses Like most senior players, Cathey believed a turnaround was coming. He felt like his class had worked hard and earned the reward that was surely coming their way. He figured the Wildcats would win multiple games and start to change the culture of the program. And then after losses by 20 and 30 points to Plymouth and Monroeville, the Wildcats were beaten 51-0 by St. Paul and 62-14 by Crestview. Two weeks later, Mapleton scored 65 points on the 'Cats. Bad went to worse in the 69-6 loss at Liberty Center. Cathey, who has offers to continue his career at College of Wooster and Heidelberg University, said looking at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter of games has been a "helpless" feeling. "But as a team leader, I'm going to try and keep our guys ready and keep them going," he said. "I try to find something positive out of every negative." That was apparent after the 63-point playoff loss when New London athletic director Susan Albaugh got a report from referee Eric Erickson, who officiated the game at Liberty Center. The sportsmanship report wasn't a typical notice about a game situation — as one might expect for a team that lost by nine touchdowns. Erickson said he wrote his report with great pleasure, noting good sportsmanship was "highly displayed" by the entire team and coaching staff of New London.' And he singled out Cathey in particular. "His communications with me personally several times displayed self-esteem, pride for his teammates and school," Erickson wrote. "With that letter, I got so many well wishes and congratulations, which felt good," Cathey said. "It feels good to know I was able to have some type of positive representation of my team and my school." Keys said when he arrived at New London, Cathey was a player about whom he was told to be wary. But two weeks ago, the senior was the poster boy for sportsmanship. "Every action he makes has repercussions, both positive and negative," Keys said. "He's taken that to heart. But not only has he done that, so have most of the other kids. We're building character and giving effort. If you keep doing that, the reward will eventually come. "Of course I want us to win — but I want to see kids win in life," he added. "I want to see 10 or 15 years down the road that they are successful, and maybe we had a small role in that. This is only four years, but there is a takeaway in everything." A game of life After spending months working out under restrictions and wondering what type of season — if there would be one at all — Keys addressed his team on the first day of practice in August. He told them he wasn't sure how long they would be out there, but to treat every day like it could be the last time they put on a helmet and shoulder pads. "And that's what these kids are doing right now," Keys said. "This is the last chance they may ever get, and they're running with it." New London started the year with 28 healthy players in uniform. On Saturday, they dressed 21 players in the 28-point win over Bucyrus. Keys often tells people the high-school game is uniquely different from college and professional football. He believes there is a lesson in every experience in prep football. "It's about maturing, growing and learning," he said. "Everything is not going to go the way you want. That's life. Nobody has the perfect life or goes through it without road bumps or hurdles to overcome. "Things are going to happen — but how will you respond to those things? Will you give up or go out and keep giving it your best shot until that change occurs? That's what it's about." And that is also why Keys said when he looked around him on Saturday, he didn't just see 21 kids in uniform for a 2-7 team. "I saw 21 resilient kids who are starting to learn to be fighters and bounce back," he said. "That's the mindset we want to establish. You experience some adversity and learn how to fight back through — that will propel you through life. That's what football is, a game of life." With two victories in the two additional games scheduled, along with two more games against teams with the same record, Keys was asked what he hoped his kids will learn in the waning days of the season. "If you can make it through 48 minutes of high-school football, you can make it through life," he said. "You're going to come through some situations where you lose a lot more than you win. "Earlier on in the year we'd have some kids hang their heads and pack it in, but now they've experienced what it's like to be on the good end of things and we have some kids who are going to come out fighting." As for Cathey, the senior said he's learned to focus on his team and himself, rather than how the Wildcats are perceived by others. "I want the underclassmen to know there are always going to be people out there who say something about you," Cathey said. "But you have to know what you can control, and take care of it — and then you will see some success." The Wildcats are hopeful that success will continue on Friday at Firelands Conference rival South Central (2-7). It was a game not originally on the schedule, breaking a streak dating back to 1968. "When the first schedule came out abbreviated and I didn't see South Central, I was upset," Key said. "No season is complete without playing that game as far as we're concerned. I think both sides are glad it was able to be worked out and look forward to it."