By: Chase Merwin
The 2017 Griffon football season didn’t go quite as well as the team had hoped, but improvements are being made to bring the team back to dominance.
1996 Western alum Matt Williamson coached his first season for the Griffons during the Fall 2017 season.
Williamson brought with him the desire to instill passion and a hunger for winning in a program that has experienced some struggle in recent years.
“I think the energy and the passion that we brought back to the program was the highlight of our season,” Williamson said. “Did we get, and have happen exactly what we wanted to have happen? No, but we’ve put things in motion to get the program back to the top again.”
Williamson said while player passion and cohesion was a main highlight of the season, it was also among the greatest of challenges for the football team.
“Playing as a team, getting everyone on the same page and getting that team bond, chemistry and atmosphere was probably the most challenging when I first got here,” Williamson said. “We’ve done a really good job with that. Our locker room now is 800 times better than it was when I first got here.”
One of the team’s most devoted athletes is junior quarterback Dominic Marino, who threw a total of 883 yards and whose season abruptly ended with an injury that kept him out of the latter half of the games.
Marino said his injury showed him just how close the team had become over the first half of the season.
“My injury really exemplified how tight-knit we are as a group,” Marino said. “I had countless teammates and staff visit and stay with me in the hospital. That time showed me how insignificant the game actually is, but it really is a tool to develop such relationships.”
Marino said that there are only two options when looking at a loss, to adapt and improve or to accept failure. To him, choosing the former is an obvious decision.
Another core contributor to the team is junior defensive lineman Kyle Dumler. Dumler executed 12 solo tackles and 25 assists throughout the 2017 season.
Dumler said that the team’s devotion to future success has made for a productive offseason.
“If you are focused and work through adversity, you will be successful,” Dumler said. “I think the Griffon football team exemplifies perseverance by coming back after a 4-7 season and having the best off-season I have seen in my career here.”
The football team looks ahead with pride, confidence and determination. Optimism for 2018 is soaring, thanks to the unity of the team and the new direction of the coaching staff, and Western is sure to see the black and gold dominate in the seasons to come.
