Football Team Starts 4-0

The Milton Black Panther Football Team has started the season 4-0 for the first time since 1987. After that start, the team did lose on Sept. 24 to Central Mountain before posting a win against Mifflinburg on Oct. 1.

According to maxpreps.com, the team only won a combined 25 games in the past ten completed seasons.

Head Football Coach Philip Davis said the team’s early success is due to believing in the system and playing with confidence. “It doesn’t matter what obstacle is going to be thrown in front of us, we are going to take in on full bore and give the best effort we can give every day,” he added.

Since last year, Coach Davis said that the team has put in more work during the off-season. They believed it would build confidence and create success, he added.

“The commitment from the kids that committed to the off-season program and the lifting has made a tremendous difference for them,” said Coach Davis. He added that this year’s team is the strongest team he has coached in his 16 years of coaching and five years as a head coach.

Junior Xzavier Minium, starting quarterback for the team, said they have had more success because they were in the weight room all fall and spring. They trust in the coaches to do what they need to do to win, he added.

“We put in a lot of work in the off-season,” said Xzavier.

Xzavier said the team’s attitudes changed because they developed confidence and believe in each other more than in previous years. He added that last year if they would have gotten down in a game, they would have given up. This year they have more confidence when it comes to this, he added.

Xzavier said this year the players are more focused at practice and are not “messing around.” The team started showing up to more optional things than in the past, he added.

“I think it’s because they started seeing the results of when it happens when you actually put in time and effort into something,” said Xzavier. He added that the players are more committed because the players have “bought into” Coach Davis’s ideas.

Coach Davis said that to make the players believe in what the coaching staff is saying, the coaches worked on getting better at what they are doing and not worrying as much about what other teams are doing.

According to Coach Davis, the team has changed the offensive playbook to be a better passing team. “I wanted to emphasize the run more,” said Coach Davis. They have not changed the defensive playbook, he added.

The team has some things to improve on, like having a better pass offense and being able to tackle better on defense, said Coach Davis.

Xzavier said the team can tighten up more on defense by not giving up when faced with a third down and 10 yards to go. “We can pass the ball better,” added Xzavier.

Xzavier is a captain on the team. If someone needs help, they can come to him because he knows the offense and defense well, he added.

“I am also someone the coaches can come to if they want an opinion on something. Like they ask me if I see anything on the field that they’re not seeing,” said Xzavier.

Coach Davis is not taking his foot off the gas for the season, though. “There’s never a time to be happy or satisfied,” added Coach Davis.