I
n sports, the ultimate measure of success or failure is wins and losses. But, winning isn’t the only measure of success, as Bellevue football coach Doug Blattner understands.
His team’s season came to an end Friday, Nov. 1 with a 20-0 loss to Climax. But, more difficult for his team than the loss, is the end of a high school career for the several seniors that overcame some adversity to lead the team into the playoffs.
“Any coach will tell it is hard to say good bye to a great group of seniors that you have been able to get to know for four years,” Blattner said. “When the last game is over, win or lose, it is very emotional for a player, a coach and a parent.”
The group seniors truly led the team this season, Blattner said. The seniors showed the underclassmen about leadership and how to handle adversity, leaving the program in a bright place for the future, he said.
“They made going to practice everyday fun,” Blattner said. “They would have practice started before the coaches would get to the practice field. I do believe the underclassmen will be better student athletes from being on the same team as these seniors.”
Bellevue finished the season with a 6-4 record, with two losses coming at the hands of a one-loss Climax team. In both loss, Bellevue gave the Scotts everything they could handle. In the playoffs, Blattner said the weather conditions had a lot to do with the team’s struggles offensively.
“The field conditions we horrible,” Blattner said. “We were unable to run our offense. As the officials said before the game, ‘we should not be playing here.’ It seemed like every time we had a drive going, we would slip. We could not get traction to run outside.”
In contrast, Climax’s style, the wing T, was more suited for the sloppy conditions.
Despite the loss, Blattner remains optimistic about the future of his program. He said there enough talented underclassmen to continue to contend for the playoffs next season. In addition to talent, they learned a lot about what it takes to win.
“I thanked them for doing everything the coaches asked of them,” Blattner said. “I let them know it does hurt now but in the future you will reflect on how good we really were and how much fun we had … how we overcame adversity to reach our goal of the playoffs.”
