Bulldogs Taking Small Steps

Photo By John Ray

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 The scoreboard may not have shown progress, but those within the football program at South High School measure success differently.

 First year head coach Felix Catheline has taken a ragtag bunch of kids and gotten them to believe that they belong on the same field with the Eastmoors and Independences and Marion-Franklins. The numbers at South may not be what they are at other City League schools, but it's a close knit bunch, and they play for each other and the coaching staff.

 On this particular Friday night, Division III state runner up Eastmoor has come in, and for a brief moment flashbacks of last year's 60-6 beatdown went through Catheline's mind. But it was fleeting, because he knows what kind of kids he has. And though the scoreboard at the end of night read Eastmoor 34, Bulldogs 0, the coach told his team he was proud.

 "A year ago we inherited a lot of baggage, and against all the top teams we weren't competitive," the coach said. "Last year we lost to Eastmoor 60-6 and we had to shorten the quarters to eight minutes. We're making mistakes a team that hasn't won in a while is going to make. There are measurements there. In three years we're going to be one of the best teams in the city."

 The Bulldogs failed to win a game last season, Catheline's first year on the staff. There was incremental improvement, but nothing that would signal a program on the brink of breaking through. While tangible results may still be a year or so away, the coach has seen a marked difference in the Bulldogs from game one to game six.

"For those who look closely enough the evidence is there," he said. "We never set a goal of this many wins. We want to see progress, and we're seeing it.We were 0-10 last year. I knew if we continued to make progress we'd eventually win. Our measuring stick is competing with Marion-Franklin and we're not making any bones about it."

 South's football program has been in the doldrums for some time, but a new building and renovations to the football stadium have helped spur enthusiasm and bring a sense of community back to the area.The marching band -- sparse in numbers -- was on its game, getting spectators on their feet, and the drill team showed the enthusiasm that Catheline hopes translates into more victories in the coming seasons.

"The kids who have been around are experiencing the difference," he said. "Last week with four minutes left in the game we're losing to Independence 37-32. We'd never been in a game with them. Eastmoor had their JVs in the game in the third quarter last year. They're seeing that and I'm calling it to their attention.

 "What's making us different right now is our discipline. Our kids are slowly listening and doing what we ask them to do, and not just on Friday night. We've been killing them in school about behavior and academics, and our program right now is heading in the right direction the right way. What's going to happen is we're going to start getting more successful with less talent and start surprising people. The new building has already starting attracting more students and our talent level will increase. We're going to be pretty tough to deal with."

 As Catheline lays out his lofty plans, it's brought to his attention that a coach can have the best intentions, but if the players aren't willing to go along then the ride will be bumpy.

"Our kids are buying into what we're teaching," he said. "Building our football program on character, telling them to not be that kid who just gets by academically the fourth grading period so he can play football and then doing nothing for the rest of the year. It's starting to set in, and our kids are seeing a difference."

 South got down early as Eastmoor scored on its first play from scrimmage, a 52-yard run around left end by dynamic running back Carl Washington. It was 7-0 just moments into the game, and a lot of teams would begin thinking here we go again. But not the Bulldogs. They continued to hit on defense, and running backs DeVante Sherwood and Tony Vaughn proved difficult to stop. Sherwood amassed over 100 yards and Vaughn was right near that figure.

 Catheline had a lot of teaching moments, including a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on his squad that proved to be a test of patience. But he didn't blow up at his players, choosing instead to let them know that winning will not come about if everyone is pulling in different directions.

 Even as Eastmoor was tacking on a final score with 11 seconds left, Catheline was clapping on the sideline, telling his kids to hang tough and keep after it.

"I'm very proud of our kids," he said. "These next three games (against Briggs, Africentric and West) are going to be huge.We're playing three teams that are dangerous but are more comparable to us in roster size. If we build up enough momentum we can making a big splash in week 10 against Marion-Franklin."

 Catheline, who is also the wrestling coach at South, has been numerous places in his coaching career. He grew up in Youngstown and played football at the College of Wooster before heading out on the coaching road. Stops in Ashland County and in Wooster were nice, but Catheline believes he's fallen into something special in Columbus, and he's going to do his level best to ensure the Bulldogs are thought of in the same terms as the City League's curent powers.

 The first thing he had to do was change the culture, and it wasn't easy.

"Two years ago our practice attendance was terrible," Catheline said. "In week 10 two years ago we were 1-8 and we had starters not show up at practice until Thursday for one reason or another -- I had the flu, all kinds of BS. Last year was kind of breaking away from that. This year our practice attendance has been spectacular, because the kids know we'll hold them accountable. That's why this program has struggled for so long, because kids weren't being held accountable. And it's not just in football, but in life. A lot of our kids come from different circumstances where they aren't being held accountable. As long as they understand 'Hey, we're going to keep you accountable, and by you being accountable you'll be a better football player,' we'll be a successful program."

 Catheline takes one last look at the scoreboard and the glowing 34-0 lights. Then it shuts off. He shakes his head but then smiles, knowing that the effort on this night was as good as he's seen all season. He tells that to his kids, reminding them that there's still work to do -- and thankful in the back of his mind that the game didn't get out of hand.

"If it was 70-0 right now I'd be crying my eyes out because I'd have nothing to say. But we've made progress and I can say 'look, this is what we're doing.' They're starting to buy it."

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