Football Feature: East Clinton Astros
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Four seniors of the East Clinton Astros looked at their upcoming final year of organized high school football and discussed how they not only have overcome some major adversity, but all have become closer because they play the sport of football.
Max Morrow, Robby Minney, Zach Bennington and Hayden Knisley have been playing football together since the fourth grade, and with this being their final year, the group took a trip down memory lane, looking at past memories of great times on the football field but also talking about the seriousness of overcoming major injuries that occurred on and off the field.
[[In-content Ad]]All the while, there remained one constant, and that was this group of four has remained together through the good and bad times as they are set to play one final time together during their senior year.
"Playing football … it's not even like it's a sport anymore," Morrow said. "It's hanging out with your friends … it's like you are family. These guys are my home away from home."
"We've formed a great bond since the fourth grade," Minney said. "We've all come together, and it's like second nature being on the football field with these guys."
"It's like a family since we've been together so long," Bennington said.
"It is really fun to play football with these guys … it's cool because we've been around each other so long we can kind of know how we are going to perform and know what the guy is going to do and say next," Knisley said. "I like that. It's a trust factor … I can trust these guys with my life."
Speaking of life away from the field, last season Minney was involved in a car accident in which he wasn't at fault, causing him severe injuries that forced him to rehab for months and miss a majority of the football season during his junior year.
"I had two broken ribs, a bruised lung, broken hip, a cracked knee and a broken ankle," Minney said as he listed all the injuries caused by the auto accident. "I had to be in a wheelchair for a couple months, but I'm happy to be back out here.
"It means a lot to me to be back … I never realized how much I'd miss it until I was on the sidelines, watching my teammates out having fun. I feel like I have a lot to make up for. As soon as I was out of my wheelchair, I was in the weight room, and I watched practices. I'll be here for my team this year.
"I want to finish the season injury-free, make the playoffs and have a winning season. I'm looking forward to playing the whole season, and hopefully nothing stupid happens. Last year, I was hit by a drunk driver in the car accident. I want to be here for my team."
Minney's teammates are glad to have him back this season.
"It's good having Robby back out here," Knisley said. "We've always had Robby. Robby and Zach were the two ends of our line, always … so it's nice to have him back."
The four seniors who have been playing football together since the fourth grade did have a couple different ways of entering the game prior to that season.
"I was the water boy for the peewee team when I was in the first grade," Morrow said. "I had two older brothers who played, and that got me into football."
"I played flag football, then played fourth grade peewee and have played all the way through," Bennington said.
"Flag football, that's when it started for me," Knisley said. "I always got in trouble back then because I would tackle kids."
Another bit of adversity overcome by one of the members of the group is Morrow's broken leg suffered last season, midway through the season, as he wasn't able to return for the remainder of the '11 year.
Morrow said the day Minney was injured in the auto accident, they all were at the hospital until midnight the day before their next game game, stating "the next day we were all so emotionally into the game against Williamsburg," which happened to be the same game he broke his leg.
"I want to stay injury free and come out with a bunch of W's because that's all you can want," Morrow said. "Our goal is to always make the playoffs. I missed five games last year after breaking my leg, and I feel I still have a lot to prove as well this season.
"As soon as I broke my leg last year, I was in the weight room every single day while they were practicing. It's like I have to prove myself from last year because I feel like I could have done so much more if I wouldn't have gotten hurt. I'm looking forward to showing what I can do."
Bennington knows that he and his teammates are better football players than they were one season ago, also crediting the senior leaders from last season for their improvements last season, saying the '11 group showed them how to be leaders.
"I just want to dominate. I can remember coming out here when I was a kid, watching the guys suit up with the silver helmets, and with this being it for us, I want to have no regrets," Bennington said. "We're all coming out here two times the better football players than we were last year."
The seniors have seen the work their teammates have put in from the freshman level to their fellow classmates, and that hasn't gone unnoticed with them this offseason.
"Making the playoffs is always the goal. I want to make my fourth-grade self proud … we've come all this way, might as go out as winners," Knisley said. "I feel like we worked hard all offseason long. The whole team … we had freshmen here every day. We had two or three of them here every day, and they just worked their butts off, and they look great so far this offseason.
"This is the strongest we've all ever been. I proved so much to myself since my freshman year. I came in as a freshman and could barely bench or squat my body weight … it's phenomenal how much changes in three or four years."
Morrow led by example in the weight room this offseason as the Astros enter the South Central Ohio League as a member school for the first time this season.
"If we have people in the weight room, lifting as much as they can, it shows the kids you can get places and achieve goals in the weight room," he said. "We want to prove that though we are one of the smaller schools in the SCOL, we can still compete in this league."
His teammates agree that they have to prove themselves in the SCOL as the group said they want to prove people wrong and are looking forward to the challenge of the SCOL this season.
"We have to show them we are actually a football team and aren't going to lie down," Knisley said. "It's going to be different. I want to make a statement this year.
"We want guys who don't give half effort but give full-out effort every day."
Max Morrow, Robby Minney, Zach Bennington and Hayden Knisley have been playing football together since the fourth grade, and with this being their final year, the group took a trip down memory lane, looking at past memories of great times on the football field but also talking about the seriousness of overcoming major injuries that occurred on and off the field.
[[In-content Ad]]All the while, there remained one constant, and that was this group of four has remained together through the good and bad times as they are set to play one final time together during their senior year.
"Playing football … it's not even like it's a sport anymore," Morrow said. "It's hanging out with your friends … it's like you are family. These guys are my home away from home."
"We've formed a great bond since the fourth grade," Minney said. "We've all come together, and it's like second nature being on the football field with these guys."
"It's like a family since we've been together so long," Bennington said.
"It is really fun to play football with these guys … it's cool because we've been around each other so long we can kind of know how we are going to perform and know what the guy is going to do and say next," Knisley said. "I like that. It's a trust factor … I can trust these guys with my life."
Speaking of life away from the field, last season Minney was involved in a car accident in which he wasn't at fault, causing him severe injuries that forced him to rehab for months and miss a majority of the football season during his junior year.
"I had two broken ribs, a bruised lung, broken hip, a cracked knee and a broken ankle," Minney said as he listed all the injuries caused by the auto accident. "I had to be in a wheelchair for a couple months, but I'm happy to be back out here.
"It means a lot to me to be back … I never realized how much I'd miss it until I was on the sidelines, watching my teammates out having fun. I feel like I have a lot to make up for. As soon as I was out of my wheelchair, I was in the weight room, and I watched practices. I'll be here for my team this year.
"I want to finish the season injury-free, make the playoffs and have a winning season. I'm looking forward to playing the whole season, and hopefully nothing stupid happens. Last year, I was hit by a drunk driver in the car accident. I want to be here for my team."
Minney's teammates are glad to have him back this season.
"It's good having Robby back out here," Knisley said. "We've always had Robby. Robby and Zach were the two ends of our line, always … so it's nice to have him back."
The four seniors who have been playing football together since the fourth grade did have a couple different ways of entering the game prior to that season.
"I was the water boy for the peewee team when I was in the first grade," Morrow said. "I had two older brothers who played, and that got me into football."
"I played flag football, then played fourth grade peewee and have played all the way through," Bennington said.
"Flag football, that's when it started for me," Knisley said. "I always got in trouble back then because I would tackle kids."
Another bit of adversity overcome by one of the members of the group is Morrow's broken leg suffered last season, midway through the season, as he wasn't able to return for the remainder of the '11 year.
Morrow said the day Minney was injured in the auto accident, they all were at the hospital until midnight the day before their next game game, stating "the next day we were all so emotionally into the game against Williamsburg," which happened to be the same game he broke his leg.
"I want to stay injury free and come out with a bunch of W's because that's all you can want," Morrow said. "Our goal is to always make the playoffs. I missed five games last year after breaking my leg, and I feel I still have a lot to prove as well this season.
"As soon as I broke my leg last year, I was in the weight room every single day while they were practicing. It's like I have to prove myself from last year because I feel like I could have done so much more if I wouldn't have gotten hurt. I'm looking forward to showing what I can do."
Bennington knows that he and his teammates are better football players than they were one season ago, also crediting the senior leaders from last season for their improvements last season, saying the '11 group showed them how to be leaders.
"I just want to dominate. I can remember coming out here when I was a kid, watching the guys suit up with the silver helmets, and with this being it for us, I want to have no regrets," Bennington said. "We're all coming out here two times the better football players than we were last year."
The seniors have seen the work their teammates have put in from the freshman level to their fellow classmates, and that hasn't gone unnoticed with them this offseason.
"Making the playoffs is always the goal. I want to make my fourth-grade self proud … we've come all this way, might as go out as winners," Knisley said. "I feel like we worked hard all offseason long. The whole team … we had freshmen here every day. We had two or three of them here every day, and they just worked their butts off, and they look great so far this offseason.
"This is the strongest we've all ever been. I proved so much to myself since my freshman year. I came in as a freshman and could barely bench or squat my body weight … it's phenomenal how much changes in three or four years."
Morrow led by example in the weight room this offseason as the Astros enter the South Central Ohio League as a member school for the first time this season.
"If we have people in the weight room, lifting as much as they can, it shows the kids you can get places and achieve goals in the weight room," he said. "We want to prove that though we are one of the smaller schools in the SCOL, we can still compete in this league."
His teammates agree that they have to prove themselves in the SCOL as the group said they want to prove people wrong and are looking forward to the challenge of the SCOL this season.
"We have to show them we are actually a football team and aren't going to lie down," Knisley said. "It's going to be different. I want to make a statement this year.
"We want guys who don't give half effort but give full-out effort every day."