TOPEKA, Kansas (WIBW) – The Scots down California Avenue feel like they have something to prove this year.
Head coach Jermaine Monroe said he is dedicating this season to his father, who passed away earlier this year. When 13 Sports asked him where he gets all his energy and passion from, the answer was his father.
“First of all, I can dedicate this season to my father, who passed away this year,” Monroe said. “One thing he always told me is, ‘If you ever coach football, you have to coach with the same passion that you played with.'” “The same energy you see out here when I coach these guys is the same energy I had when I played football myself.”
The Scots finished 7-3 last year, their most wins in over a decade. They also hosted and won a playoff game last year, another feat that lasted over a decade.
Highland Park is making these moves to get attention again. They are bringing back a great graduating class, Jamon Wilson, CJ Brown, Craige Sipple, to name a few.
The team and Monroe said the energy, motivation and maturity are different this year. They are hungry.
“I told the guys not to be witnesses to history, but to be part of history, and I think that gives them courage,” Monroe said. “They know this is the biggest group of seniors we’ve ever had, and they’ve had this group since freshman year. It’s my first full group I’ve had in four years from freshmen to seniors. I’m just glad they can stick together and keep this thing going.”
The motivation is still there, we definitely want to keep the momentum going, but now the next step is to get more playoff wins and make it to state. A playoff win was nice, but it’s time for more,” said senior running back and free safety Jamon Wilson.
“We know we can do better than last year. We know we can make it to the state championship. We know we can compete with the best out there no matter what,” said senior running back and wide receiver CJ Brown.
“I think we still have something to prove. They probably think we’re not as good as we used to be because we changed conferences, but I think we still have it and if we were in the other conference we would still win,” said senior offensive lineman and defensive tackle Elijah Thomas.
The Scots open the season at home against Wyandotte.
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