Gardner believes season just tip of iceberg for Knights program

Would they play or not? Would Zach Gardner’s West Holmes football team get a chance to compete in a year filled with doubt due to COVID-19?

The answer was a resounding yes, and while it wasn’t ever easy, it was well worth the price as the Knights went as deep into the playoffs as they have ever gone.

“It was a tough year, but we worked through it, and it was worth it,” Gardner said. “I think the one thing I will always remember about this team was how the guys came together in late May and early June, under all of these unknowns, and the courage, toughness and grit they displayed in preparing for a season that they weren’t even sure would take place. The kids trusted us as a coaching staff to develop a plan that would get us through all of this COVID stuff, and their parents and the administration allowed us to take the steps we needed to take to have a season. It felt like every step of the way we scrapped and clawed to grab normalcy back, whatever that meant. It seemed like it was climbing a different ladder each week.”

The first rung of that ladder was the OK from the governor to begin practice with just 10 people in a group. Working out was followed by actually being able to touch a football, which led to larger groups participating in practices. Scrimmages, games and then the unfolding of the playoff picture presented itself, and the season somehow progressed.

Gardner said whether his team would have gone 0-6 or 6-0, he would forever remember his players working together through difficult times.

It turned out the Knights fell somewhere in between, finishing up the regular season at 4-2. Their reward for losing two games to two strong opponents was a 12-seed, which created a whole new scenario.

The Knights welcomed season two, the playoffs, with a gigantic chip on their shoulder, having felt shunned by voting coaches who didn’t seem to believe all that much in West Holmes.

“We felt disrespected and thought that seeding was kind of ludicrous because we played a tough schedule,” Gardner said. “When you play a tough schedule against good people, you’re going to lose some games, but we got better through that process, but yeah, our kids took that seeding personally.”

West Holmes set about proving everyone wrong and did well at doing so. An easy 45-10 win over lower seed Mansfield Madison opened the playoff run. Then came a date with No. 5 seed Cloverleaf, and it was a convincing 35-14 victory. One week later the Knights produced a scintillating comeback win over No. 4 seed Padua Franciscan, continuing to prove the voters wrong.

The magical playoff run ended in the regional final, where WHHS fell to top-seed Tiffin Columbian, but not before taking the Tornadoes right down to the wire with a chance to win with two minutes to play.

It was a satisfying run that proved to the Knights and everyone else this team belonged with the best.

“You can talk all you want, but respect is earned on the field, and these kids earned that respect,” Gardner said. “For us to do what we did, we deserved that. Sometimes life isn’t fair, but you find out what kind of character you have when things don’t go your way, and these guys reacted well, and the success they achieved was well earned.”

The sheer number of players the Knights placed on the Ohio Cardinal Conference all-conference team speaks volumes as to the success of the season.

Senior Nate Ginsburg earned the OCC Special Teams Player of the Year award while Gardner joined Wooster’s Doug Haas and Ashland’s Sean Seder as Coach of the Year winners.

Garnering first-team selection were seniors Luke Vess, Lane Graham, Peyton McKinney and Brady Taylor, along with juniors Garrett Eastep and Noah Clark.

Securing second-team nods were seniors Brant Burgett, Emmett Myers, Bubba Hay, Logan Kula, junior Tucker Kaufman and sophomore Brett Shearer. Honorable mention awards went to seniors Kaedon Hankins and Braden Myers and junior Matthew Weaver.

The senior class is one that exhibited leadership and talent, and it is one Gardner said will be difficult to replace.

“It’s always difficult to replace your seniors,” Gardner said. “It’s an outstanding group, a deep group with a lot of talent and work ethic and some really neat personalities. This is the first group that went through the program from the beginning of their careers, and they helped set the culture and make the program better. They have helped transform the culture, and now everything we do is building upon what they gave to the program.”

Gardner said the goal earlier was to make the playoffs. This season proved the Knights could not only get there, but also make some noise. He said the next step in the evolution of the program is a regional title.

But Gardner said this isn’t about a one-and-done title run, but rather the building of a program that can make continual runs deep into the playoffs.

“We are excited about the talent we have coming back and feel like this is the continuation of something special,” Gardner said.

Seasons like this one only add to the anticipation of a program on the upswing.