High school football: East Mecklenburg, Garinger seeking small victories
Leave your sympathy at the front door.
Lennie Sanders and Josh Williams aren’t looking for it.
They don’t want people feeling sorry for the football programs they lead.
What they hope for — and expect — is that one day, you will respect the programs for what they have become.
Sanders is the third-year head coach at East Mecklenburg, and Williams is in his first season at Garinger, and they recognize that their teams often don’t stack up well with their competition.
Each team has a 70-0 loss this season. East Mecklenburg is 1-5, with the victory coming by a 40-18 score Friday night at 0-6 Garinger. They share The Charlotte Observer/Deer Park statewide coach of the week award this week.
“We’re in a tough conference,” Williams said. “It’s a gauntlet.”
As Sanders noted, “Most of the time, we’re facing a state power like Butler, Catholic, Independence, or Providence. Usually, it’s going to be a tough night.”
So they — and their fans — take solace in the progress they see. And they await better days.
‘We’ve looked good’
The evidence would indicate that East Mecklenburg is farther along the recovery trail.
The Eagles dropped their opener 32-24 to Berry Academy. In Week 3, they lost 37-32 to Parkwood. Each time, a lost fumble late in the game made the difference.
“We easily could have three wins by now,” said Eagles’ athletics director Jason Fowler.
Sanders said those narrow losses indeed are a sign of progress.
“We’ve looked good,” Sanders said. “It’s just been those mistakes at critical times.”
He said he believes most, if not all of, his players have not quit.
“They’ve kept at it,” he said. “And at times when we’ve needed someone to step into a new role, they’ve been willing to do it.”
Closes losses, he said, bring the threat of players becoming discouraged.
“When it’s close, these guys know that we – the coaching staff – are with them,” Sanders said. “We make sure we let them know that.”
And when it’s not close, like the 44-0 loss to Palisades or a 70-0 thumping by Monroe?
“In this day and age, our kids hear a lot of things on social media,” Sanders said. “So my voice — our voices (coaching staff) — have to be louder than any other voices. We remind them that we are working toward better times.”
Daniel and Paula Smith’s son, Brandon Westbrook, is a senior center for the Eagles.
They say they’ve seen no quit from the team.
“They’re a good team,” Daniel Smith said. “They fight, they play hard. They keep at it.”
Paula Smith said the losses can be discouraging. “At the end of the day, you want these guys to win,” she said. “We tell them how proud we are of them.”
It started with donuts
Williams arrived at Garinger last spring and found only seven students interested in playing football. It has been that way for years, and a series of coaches have come and gone at what is one of Charlotte’s oldest high schools.
“Nobody wanted to play, and there was talk about not fielding a football team,” he said.
That wouldn’t have gone over well with some Wildcats’ fans.
“You need football,” said Anika Davis, whose daughter plays girls’ basketball at Garinger. Davis said she never misses a game. “It’s an important part of student life.”
Williams agreed, naturally.
So one morning last spring, he had a donut giveaway in the school cafeteria. Every male student who came for a donut was grilled by Williams.
“I got their contact information,” he said. “And I followed up. We ended up with 30 players last spring, and they stuck with it.”
“I also went to every feeder school that feeds into Garinger,” he added. “I talked to the students who will be coming here. If I’m going to build something, I’ve got to start with the foundation.”
This season’s Garinger team has only two players who were on the Wildcats’ roster last fall.
“I’m a progression guy,” Williams said. “You map our the steps you want to take, and you progress. That’s what we’re doing.”
The small victories
Both coaches say the won-loss record doesn’t tell the whole story.
“We will go into games, like next week against Butler, where the other team has four or five polished athletes for every one that we have,” Sanders said. “Obviously, that puts us at a disadvantage.”
He said he tells the Eagles that they have an opportunity to score small victories.
“Every time we make a big play, that’s a sign of our progress,” he said.
Williams said he and his staff score the small victories in every game.
“If we hold the ball for two minutes or more, that’s a victory,” he said. “If we force a three-and-out by our defense, that’s a victory.”
In that respect, the Wildcats had some victories Friday, even though they lost by 22. They had a six-minute possession. They drove from their 1 to the East Mecklenburg 20.
“We can see that they’re trying hard,” said Shelia Bethea, Class of ’98 at Garinger and one of the fans Friday night.
Eventually, both coaches hope, those small in-game victories will grow enough to make a difference on the scoreboard.
“Our coaching staff will not let up, and our kids have shown they won’t either,” Sanders said.
Williams said he told his players that if they don’t like what’s happening to the Garinger program, they can feel free to leave.
“We haven’t lost a single player,” he said.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
2023 coach of the week honorees
Week 1: Kennedy Tinsley, Mallard Creek
Week 2: Ben Kolstad, Leesville Road
Week 3: Brandon Gentry, Hopewell
Week 4: Andrew Farriss, Northern Nash
Week 5: Sam Greiner, West Charlotte
Week 6: Lennie Sanders, East Mecklenburg; Josh Williams, Garinger
