HOT SPRINGS — Early in the season, Hot Springs football faced a few losses on the scoreboard and a few injuries on the field.
But the Savage Heat brought a next-man-up mentality for a 9-3 record and a trip to the 6-Man playoff semifinals against Box Elder on Saturday.
Coach Jim Lawson says the team has fully bought into that mindset.
“It seems like we found ways to win football games even without some of our key players,” Lawson said. “So the kids, learning how to do that, it's made us a better football team, and I think, you know, you always learn a lot more from those games that you lose rather than winning, and so we learned a lot about those losses.”
When a player is injured in six-man football, a heavier burden is placed on the rest of the team because there are not many replacements.
However, senior Nick McAllister said that although there were some growing pains for players in their new roles, the team eventually found a winning formula.
“I think we got enough people out there, even if they weren't the most physically gifted, they were pretty smart, high IQ to play,” McAllister said.
“So they were able to come out and play well for us and work really hard and I think that was our biggest, best thing for us was everybody was just smart enough that they could come in and play really well, wherever they went it helps a lot.”
With a small and tight-knit team, senior John Waterbury said it is no surprise that the players developed chemistry quickly even with their new roles.
“Everyone was really encouraging for the new guys who are stepping up and just helping out and making sure they knew what they are doing,” Waterbury said. “If they made a mistake we were there to help them but they understood they had to fix it, they had to change some things.”
Now with a semifinal game on the horizon, the Savage Heat have their sights on winning that game and advancing to the championship.
Lawson said that no matter what happens, his team has already achieved great things this year.
“You know, the toughness and the resilience of this team. I mean, they battle a lot of adversity,” Lawson said. “To come through and, and to be a semi-final team is, I'm just really proud of them.”
Hot Springs kicks off against Box Elder on Saturday at 1 p.m.
