Lonny Schraeder learned many lessons while coaching under a legend like Nevil Barr. One of them applies to the situation Schraeder’s Sacred Heart Crusaders are in now having lost four of their last five games.
“My dear friend, Nevil Barr, always said that’s why you’ve got your eyes in the front of your head. So you can look forward and not look back,” Schraeder said. “You put it behind you and you move forward.”
Even with a lack of depth and injuries to key players, that’s what the Crusaders are trying to do. They’re also playing in one of the toughest, most competitive districts going right now in 4-1A. Nothing comes easy playing teams like East Marion, Lumberton, Resurrection Catholic and Stringer on a weekly basis.
“It’s like the SEC West of 1A football,” Schraeder joked. “It’s tough. Every week you have to load up, strap it on and get after it.”
Despite all of that, which would cause a lot of teams to crumble, spirits remain high for these Crusaders. Everything they hoped to achieve this season, it’s still right in front of them, says Schraeder.
“We’ve had injuries and issues, but that’s football. Everybody has issues, and everybody has injuries. You can only control what you can control. You work hard and just get ready for the next game.”
“It’s right in front of us. We just have to keep plugging.”
With the playoffs right around the corner, Schraeder’s team should get some relief in the coming weeks. Linebacker Garrett Crowder is nearly back to 100 percent, while their leading rusher, Campbell Klein, is week to week. If there ever was a silver lining to the injuries, though, it’s that younger players were forced to step in and mature on the fly.
“You gotta throw somebody in there. And that’s life,” Schraeder explained. “Things don’t work out the way you want, what do you do? It’s not what happens to you that makes you. It’s what you do after that.”
Through thick and thin, their mindset doesn’t change.
“You just regroup and keep going.”
Sacred Heart (3-4) will be back in action this Friday night at home against Lumberton (5-2).
