Western High football players Greg Castendad, Maurese Williams, and Malik Dixon before the 2015 Season.
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Western video preview
More Coverage
For the Western High football team, it has to start with one. It’s been more than four full seasons since the Warriors have won a game, and for anything first-year coach John Norton wants to accomplish to come to fruition, it has to start with one victory.
Senior quarterback Greg Castenada believes that even though scores have been lopsided, the Warriors haven’t been far off in some of their games. That’s something he thinks they can build on.
But until they come out on top, the players are charging forward on their own belief and the belief that Norton has tried to implement.
“The drive that he puts into all of the players lets you know that everybody is on the same page and willing to work,” offensive lineman Maurese Williams said.
Norton wasn’t sure exactly what to expect leading up to his first year. From the workouts to participation numbers to general optimism, he’s been impressed.
“It went better than I thought,” Norton said. “The way that we go about our business is what helped kids buy into our program.”
Western’s season starts Friday at home against Sunrise Mountain before road trips to Virgin Valley and Sierra Vista highs. Sunrise Mountain has won just one game in each of the last three seasons, presenting the Warriors one of their best chances to end the streak right off the bat.
One of the keys to making that happen, in Norton’s eyes, is the camaraderie the team has been working on building over the offseason. Norton has found is a group that believes they’re ready to turn the corner.
“Our players are eager to learn and they work hard,” Norton said. “Those are two things that we noticed right away.”
Now the task is turning that hard work and belief into results.
Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.
