October 16, 2015. That’s the last time Springfield Central won a football game.
Yet, if you spend one day at a Bulldogs practice, you’ll see a team with a positive attitude.
“The one positive we take away from it is nothing worse can happen than what’s happened before,” said Central Head Coach Shem Johnson.
With a losing streak that has stretched to 41 games, the Bulldogs players and coaches believe 2020 will be different.
“[The players are] excited,” Johnson said. “It’s a system that’s set up for us to compete.”
This year, Central will play an independent schedule instead of its usual slate in the Ozark Conference.
“Finding out last year in the offseason it was awesome to find that out,” said senior Kaleb Small. “That we actually have the chance to compete with people that have the same size team as we have.”
“Not to say we didn’t enjoy playing in the conference, playing against some of these powerhouses,” Johnson said. “It’s just when the numbers are against you, eventually it may catch up with you.”
With a roster size usually in the 30s, Central has frequently played teams with twice as many or even three times as many players.
So, the school felt the new schedule was the right move. It’s a move that’s breathing new life into the program.
“We understand what it’s like to be on the losing end of things. That’s old hat for us. Now, it’s about winning,” Johnson said.
“You can see the difference in people out here participating, and trying harder,” Kaleb said. “I’m sad to say it, but I think there was a lot of mindset in a lot of players that if we have the same old schedule again then we’re just going to go 0-10 again.”
For seniors like Kaleb, that mindset has shifted to something better.
“With all this corona stuff going on, even if we only have one game, and we win it, our names will be in history books,” Kaleb said. “We’ll be in Central history as the team that broke the curse, the losing streak. And that’s pretty cool.”
Central’s first chance to break that streak comes on August 28 at Eldon.
