Grit and an eagerness to play football mark Taylor Yellowjackets’ resurgent 2024 season

Before Friday, Sept. 20, the Taylor Yellowjackets football team hadn’t scored a point on the Wyoming Cowboys since 2015.

Eight seasons, eight matchups, zero points.

In those eight seasons, Wyoming finished atop the Cincinnati Hills League seven times and lost one conference game. This year, the Cowboys were on the same track, sitting at 5-0 and looking like the best team in the league once again.

Even though Taylor couldn’t quite beat Wyoming last week, the Yellowjackets made a statement. Taylor led the Cowboys early in the second quarter. After giving up that lead, they cut the score to within two points in the fourth quarter. They ended up losing 35-26, but considering that Wyoming looks about as dominant as ever this season, that’s a darn heartening performance.

“We’ve known we’re a good team,” senior captain linebacker Brody Lehmann said. “But I think that’s where I realized that this team is special, the best team Taylor has had in a long time.”

Taylor coach David Dransman instilled a winning culture

When David Dransman took over as the head coach at Taylor ahead of the 2021 season, the Yellowjackets hadn’t seen a winning season in the CHL since 2015. Players said he has instilled a culture throughout the program of hard work, accountability and an eagerness to play football. The players get a month off in the offseason, but 11 months a year they’re working, whether it’s on the field or in the weight room.

Dransman and his team were so eager to play football this year that their first practice was Aug. 1, the first day football teams could practice in Ohio, the moment the clock struck midnight. Pitch black at Coach Don McMillan stadium off of Cooper Avenue in Cleves, they put on the lights, blared the music and got to work.

“The kids were hyped up,” Dransman said. “They had fun with…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/grit-eagerness-play-football-mark-044521935.html

Author : The Enquirer

Publish date : 2024-09-28 04:45:21

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