Bishop Noll’s football program has been going on for over 77 years and we have come a long way ever since. Noll’s last state championship in football was in 1989 when they were in the 3A classification. Now in 2019, Coach Racine has taken over the football program as the head coach, and is assisted by Coach Miller, Laird, Padilla, and Mullaney. For the first time in six years the football program has won a varsity game and is currently sitting with a (3-4) record. The last two games of the season are against South Central with a record of (1-5) and Calumet New Tech High school with a record of (5-1). There still needs to be improvements from their recent loses to finish off the season on a good note.
Coach Racine stated his teams work ethic has improved and there are constant improvements that need to be made. He also explained that teammates who don’t get playing time, start to get better as players. Over the years, the number of students has changed and team totaled 45 players, mostly a lot of young kids. Coach Racine was very disappointed at how their recent game against Calumet Christian went. That game had made Coach Racine and his staff concerned. He exclaimed that they didn’t play as a team and teammates relied on individuals. However, their game against Lake Central, there were physical errors that were made. During the game the ball was out of place, but Bishop Noll stopped them defensively.
Kyle Elkins, an offensive and defensive tackle, exclaimed how they need to focus on the game and stop messing around. He explains how they need to get better physically and mentally. During practice Kyle stated they do hitting drills and passing drills to make sure there are no missed tackles. Craig Hutton, a wide receiver, explains that team watches films and overall listen to what the coaches have to say. Chris Valdez a (position) stated that their team needs a better mentally. Since they have a record of losing most of the time, they have thoughts that they are not that good of a team. Chris explained, “It’s hard, losing it happens, but we are coming back by getting better after every game.” The team had a (3-0) record before losing the last three recent games. He didn’t expect the team to go undefeated. Chris expressed, “losing helps people grow, if you lose, you are going to gain something out of it.” Lastly, Chris is looking forward to their homecoming game and believes they will come back sharp Friday against South Central High school.
Bishop Noll’s football team has been working on their work ethic since the start of their season. Even though the team has a record of losing, they are self motivated and worthy to take on anything that comes their way. Personally, I’ve seen improvements and adjustments that have been made. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next couple years are going to go for the Warriors.