Football Feature: Clinton-Massie Falcons

For five Clinton-Massie senior captains, last year's run to the Division IV State Final Four was a great memory. In fact, they all said it was their favorite experience playing football, but this group wants to take the next step in the state playoffs … earning a spot in the state championship game this December.
    
The five senior leaders on the Falcons include quarterback Tyler Uetrecht, defensive end/guard Jake Weaver, defensive end/tight end Trent Smart, defensive tackle Duane Sowers and full back Wyatt Running. This group haven't lost many games but have learned from the losses they've suffered, which has allowed them to become an even better football team and players headed into their final season as members of the Dan McSurley-led Falcon program.
    

[[In-content Ad]]The players let it be known they have one goal, and that is to be in the state championship game, and possibly even more.
    
"Our goal is to win state," Uetrecht said. "Our goal is to beat everybody and have no letdowns. As captains of this team, we have to show and lead by example. We have to communicate and work together, and if we do that, we can have more potential than any other team out there, but we have to keep working at it and put our hearts into it."
    
"I just want to have a good season, get to the playoffs … do it one game at a time, one step at a time, do our best and reach our full potential," Weaver said.
    
"I want to take it above one step from last year, and I want to at least go to the state game," Smart, who has verbally committed to Ohio University for the fall of '13, said. "I really want to win the state championship and go all the way this year. Last year, sometimes, toward the beginning of the season we took teams too lightly, and that's not going to happen this year. We always have a target on our backs, being Clinton-Massie, with teams coming out to get us.
    
"Even this year, they (preseason rankings) have us as the underdog in our region, and I think that's a big help because that takes a lot of the pressure off us, and we always rise above the situation when we need to. We use last year as a motivation during the summer practices because we want to have the feeling of moving on in the playoffs. It was amazing … you don't even know what to feel after that, it was insane."
    
Their teammates agreed.
    
"The state final four last year was great. We played one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, but it wasn't good enough for me," Sowers said. "I want to be in the state final and bring it back to all these people who have followed us since the beginning."
    
"My goal is to get back where we were and to take it a step further," Running said. "I want to win state and just play better than we ever have before. We need to work harder than we ever have. We have to play as a team, and we can't have any mishaps like we did last year at the beginning of the season. We have to go into every single game and take it one step at a time."
    
The Falcons know just how important their football program is to the community of Clarksville as many in the community follow the program and sell out the stadium each home game.
    
"Friday nights are just an adrenaline rush … I know every week I can look each of my teammates in the eye and trust them and know they will get it done," Running said.
    
"What I love the most about Friday nights is coming out here and how I can play the sport with my friends out on the field and playing for my community," Uetrecht said. "Playing the best for my coaching staff."
    
"Playing for our community really motivates us," Smart said. "I look forward to the rush of playing for Clinton-Massie each week. I can't wait for Fridays each week."
    
"It's a big thing, knowing I've played football with these guys for six or seven years, and we are finally at the top," Weaver said. "Those Friday nights we've been with each other through the wins and the losses, and we know we can do this. We've done it before, and we can do it again."
    
"There's nothing like being under Friday night lights," Sowers said. "Not much compares to it … it's a whole different feeling. It's an adrenaline rush, playing football with people you've won with since you were a little guy."
    
Speaking of playing under the lights of Friday nights, this senior class knows a thing or two about being winners under those lights, and playing on Fridays is something they take great pride in, as it's one of the reasons they battle through all the hot two-a-day practices in early August and return every season.
    
"I love the atmospheres on Friday nights, how there are so many people rooting us on no matter what," Running said. "Even if we've had a mishap early in the season like last year (two consecutive losses), there were still people coming no matter what. It's nice to know the community has your back. The reason I keep playing is I love the game, it's my favorite sport … everybody is at your back, everybody is a family and together, including the fans. It's just unlike anything else."
    
"It's the best thing ever, knowing you are here for everyone and everyone is here for you," Sowers said. "It's a good feeling, the community is here no matter what. I guess the greatest feeling is though we're not a fan of two-a-days, but it's all worth it for Friday nights. Win or lose, I know these guys are still going to be here with me for the next week. I guess you don't know that feeling until you play the game for this long."
    
"I agree with Wyatt and Duane, but I also love our coaching staff," Smart said. "They find a way to bring everyone back every single year. They push you to your limit and don't accept failure, and I really respect that. This is one big family. There are no rivalries on our team. We are all one big family, and it all comes together, and I love that."

"I think because Clinton-Massie has been a dominantly winning team, that keeps the coaches going, and that drives us to keep going," Weaver said. "We like winning, and we just keep going with it. We're basically all brothers out here. With the community, it's like one giant family … they support us so much, and I just love football. It's the best sport in the world.
    
"We come back every year because of the coaches and their passion," Uetrecht said. "We all respect them because they push us, and they want us to excel. I believe we play our best for them and the fans and for the atmosphere we have here every game, which is unbelievable.
    
"I keep playing for the love of the game. I have a passion for this game. These other four captains are like brothers to me. We're so tight. It's different than any other sport. My favorite sport is basketball, but as a team, I love the camaraderie and the leadership these guys (the other captains) bring, and I love being a part of that."
    
As each player talked about their passion they currently have for the game of football, each also spoke about their roots within the game and how they began what has become a journey toward the top of the state football ladder each season during their high school careers.
    
"I started in fifth grade. When I first started, the program was great. I loved the coaches, and the older players (at Clinton-Massie) inspired me," Uetrecht said. "I wanted to be like them. My biggest inspiration was Tyler Sargent."
    
"I started at pee-wee in third grade and played with the class above at fourth," Weaver said. "I looked up to Drew Frey and all the big linemen starting out, and I've just played ever since."
    
"My dad was coaching when I was in second grade. My brother was in fourth grade and I was their practice dummy, and I've stuck with it ever since then," Smart said. "It's been the love of my life, pretty much."
    
"I grew up in Columbus [arrived in Clarksville in fifth grade], and we started pretty early," Sowers said. "In first grade, I didn't really have an inspiration, but I knew I loved the sport and stuck with it. I got lucky with the way it turned out."
    
"I first started around the third grade," Running said. "My brothers really pushed me to get onto the team. I've loved it ever since, and I look up to both of my brothers."
    
Still, what motivates the senior captains of the Falcons is the feeling they got reaching the State Final Four one season ago and knowing this is their final shot at achieving that feeling once again.
    
"It was unreal coming out of that tunnel to see both fan bases having the stadium filled to the top, knowing they were all there for us," Sowers said. "We have to work harder than before because we still lost."
    
"It was amazing to just have that experience. Everybody being behind us and supporting us with everything they had," Running said. "It was so cool to be out on that field, playing one of the best quarterbacks in the nation."
    
More of the captains talked of that experience.
    
"I think it was a crazy journey to get to that point last year because during the season, we didn't know how far we were going to make it, and to end up the furthest we ever have in school history was pretty great," Weaver said. "To have our fans support us the whole way was really amazing, how they stuck with us and traveled with us."
    
"It was amazing, like Jake said," Smart said. "We had a down start, and we fired right back. The community support helped us rise above and to take it to the next level."
    
Uetrecht summed it all up.
    
"It was a great experience … I know we all cherished it, but we want to get to that next level where we are on top," he said. "I believe we can work our way to that point at the end of the day."