Brainerd Striving For Elusive Winning Season

Football in a pandemic stinks, but it’s not all bad for Brainerd coach Tyrus Ward.
Said Ward:”COVID has allowed us. Has allowed our program to kind of weed out the kids that are not serious, and the kids that are serious.”
With a 2-0 start already this season, it appears the Panthers are serious about stopping a losing pandemic. Brainerd hasn’t enjoyed a winning record since 2009.
Said Ward:”Every kid plays. We’re going into every game saying these 30 kids are going to help us in some shape or fashion on Friday night. It has helped our kids morale at practice. They know they are going to get in. They’ve kind of accepted their roles.”
Last year, the Panthers had only one game where they scored more than one touchdown.
This year, they’ve scored 30 or more in their first two contests with quarterback Xiyeer Lattimore leading the charge.
Said Ward:”He’s going to be the guy we lean on all year. I don’t think we’ve done a good job the past three years of kind of displaying his talents because he has been the only quarterback we’ve had. So this year, we’ve kind of taken the shackles off of him and letting him play and letting him be the athlete that he is.”
Play to your strengths with a touch of old school wisdom.
Said Ward:”Like I said, it goes back to blocking and tackling. I’ve been told that my entire life. The older I get, and the more I start coaching, the more that quote is so true. We wrap up. Don’t worry about the kill shot, and when we get our chances to make tackles, we need to make tackles.”