Coming off of a dominant season by making the semi-finals for the first time since 2004, the Mustang football team has a very strange situation on their hands. With a new head coach, an unsure future, and some very cold weather coming up, the Mustangs look to execute another great season despite a worldwide pandemic.

Although the decision isn’t for sure, the expectation is for the season to start in the ballpark of February 15th. Nonetheless, players have more determination than ever before to come out hot this winter.

“We have waited too long to just not come out playing hot,” junior Dylan Flood said. “We want to win. We want to have fun. We just want to play better. Everyone wants to win another MSL title and win state.”

The team has one clear goal in mind, which is to win state. However, in order to do that, players have to stay healthy from not just injuries this year, but from Covid-19. This includes Zoom workouts, socially-distant practices, and smart out of school decisions. It could be hard for new players to fit into the new varsity system with these restrictions, but they seem ready.

“The juniors will fit into varsity just fine; they know the expectations of being a Mustang football player and the transition will be easy for them,” Coach Sam Baker said.

Although confident that new varsity players will transition easily, another obstacle in the altered season could be weather.  The weather during early months of the year in Illinois has never been too kind, and in fact, can be a significant source of injuries.

“I definitely feel like the cold will play a factor, it will make it harder to throw and catch the ball meaning the run game will be very important,” senior Nick Tannhauser said.

This weather will not only leave offensive players with challenges to overcome, but the defensive players as well. 

“When you get hit it hurts a little more,” Baker said. “It just depends on how cold it is.  [The] biggest difference is for centers, quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers because the football is harder, and your hands are cold.” 

And for Mustang football fans, they may not be able to attend games this year due to this virus, but they can still expect high-passion plays and highlights from players with the typical endless determination of the whole Mustang football team.