Schools
Mustangs Go Full Throttle, Lose 20 Seniors But No Horsepower
Despite the youth of his team, head coach Gary Faszholz believes the enthusiasm and determination of his athletes could carry into another playoff season.
The Mustangs finished the season last year with an overall 8-3 record, including a district victory over Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy. A big part of the success was due to a heavy senior class leading the way.
One year later, head coach Gary Faszholz now has a much younger team and believes there will be a definite learning curve and growing pains, but said he is enthusiastic with what his team could bring to the field.
“This year it’s kind of like opening a gift, not knowing what’s in the gift yet," he said. "The gift is sitting on the table. The package is there and we are opening it up a little bit every day to see what’s going to be in there. And it’s looking good and it’s looking exciting ... that will be the fun part of it, what these kids do. They are working hard.”
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Lutheran North plays in the always competitive Catholic League and the toughness this year should be no different.
“OK, Catholic League. That’s all I got to say, Catholic League. It’s a very tough league,” Faszholz said in response to division outlook. “We are in the mix of the Catholic League, which means you better be able to come and bring it every week.”
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It was clear this team has the work ethic to succeed, but it is lacking varsity game experience. It will be crucial that everyone gets enough reps to be ready for the season opener against Yale, a team they beat 21-6 last season.
“Well, real simply we need to work on our execution," Faszholz said. "We have a whole bunch of young kids. We talk about being prepared for the first game. We need to be prepared for Yale, the first game, and that just comes through reps and execution and that’s what we are working on.”
With hopes of a return trip to the playoffs, this teams engine does not lack the horsepower needed to motor through practice, but the players must be willing to learn fast to reach that goal again.
“These young guys got to step up," Faszholz said. "They got to get ready in a hurry and got to get as much experience as they can as quick as they can. The one thing our kids will do is work hard. We have always have had that here at North. We get the most out of our kids.”
