Numbers don’t lie, and if you look closely at them, you can uncover the stories within the game. This certainly was the case in the clash between the Muskies and Grant Park Pirates here last Friday.
Yes, the Pirates won the game 29-17 to leave the black-and-gold 0-2 on the WHSFL season, but look closer.
The Muskies fielded 30 players; Grant Park 46. Most of the Muskies had to play both sides of the ball while most of Pirates played one side of the ball and spent the rest of the time playing the part of water boy.
Ty Griffith is one of those, playing both quarterback and the free safety position for Fort High—and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I don’t care where I play, I just like playing football,” he remarked. “I wouldn’t care if I was center or whatever, I just like being on the field.
“Putting time into free safety, or putting time into quarterback, doesn’t matter because I’m putting time into football,” he reasoned.
Since going 4-4 in their inaugural season in the WHSFL in 2001, the Muskies are winless in their last 18 conference games. That’s what the numbers say, but they don’t show you that the team’s mentality is one of confidence and perseverance.
“I think people realize that we stand toe-to-toe with everybody, so it’s just we have to execute,” said head coach Bob Swing.
Here’s another number. After their 30-0 season-opening loss to the Churchill Bulldogs back on Sept. 10, just 18 players showed up for practice on the following Monday—a far cry from the 27 who were on the bus to Winnipeg.
And it would be an understatement to say that Swing wasn’t pleased with those numbers.
“Ultimately we just didn’t have an effective week of practice,” he said. “There were an awful lot of distractions, and I think you sort of hope that everything will come together on game day.
“But in the real world, it usually doesn’t work like that,” Swing added.
“Yes, they are distractions, but the thing is life isn’t fair. Nothing about life is fair, and what you do is pick yourself up, and you go attack the next play in practice as if you attack the next thing in life.
“It’s tough, and I know it’s tough on them because if it’s tough on me,” Swing stressed. “But life has distractions and there’s a lot of stuff that is happening with our team and we’ll get through because that’s what we have to do.”
Take a closer look at their losing record and you’ll find an appreciation by Swing and the coaching staff for those players who have come out every week; who haven’t quit on a program that won’t quit on them.
“You can’t walk away from these kids. These kids are warriors,” said Swing. “When you see and come to understand what’s going on at home for some of these young men, they motivate you to show up.
“They motivate me every day to be a better parent to my kids. They motivate me every day to better a human being and they give me far more than I will ever give to them,” he added.
Pound for pound, offensive co-ordinator Shane Beckett believes the Muskies can match up to anyone in the league, though admits they have a ways to go until they get there.
“That’s what we tell these guys every week. No one is faster than us, no one is stronger than us, and no one tries harder than us,” said Beckett. “It’s just the little things that kill you.
“You’ve got to be able to put the whole thing together and that’s what the building process is about and, hopefully, guys see that we’re right there,” he added.
If you ask Pirates’ coach Mike Kennedy what he thought about the numbers the Muskies have been putting up lately, and why he feels they haven’t had a win in a while, his answer is scientific.
“They’re good. They’re big and they’ve got size,” he said. “Maybe it’s all the travel, I don’t know. It’s tough to play out here and travel all that much.
“I know that coach Swing is a hell of a good coach,” he added. “You get guys all the time and chemistry is a big deal in football, so maybe his chemistry just hasn’t been very good the past couple of years.”
The Muskies next face Kelvin here this Friday at 4 p.m. The Clippers also are 0-2, which should make for a closely-contested affair—the type of game the black-and-gold will always be ready for.
“Quitters never win and winners never quit, and I think that’s why when we get mentally straight, we’ll be successful,” said Swing. “These kids are good kids, and we’ll keep working at it.
“They work hard and they believe they can do it, it’s just that they have to have some success.”
But what do you do if things don’t go your way, coach?
“What do you do? You button up your chin strap and you go after life with greater vigour and zest,” Swing replied.
“And I’ve got to practice what I preach,” he added. “If I’m spending too much time worrying about the door closing behind me, then I’m not going to see the door open in front of me.
“But it’s maddening,” he admitted.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
