Good luck finding an athlete who says they feel good after a loss. If the loss is particularly painful, the amount is doubled.
South Williamsport experienced that feeling twice in the first three weeks of this season, losing by a combined seven points in thrilling games against Canton and Muncie. South nearly erased a 27-point deficit in the fourth quarter in a six-point loss to Canton, but Muncie trailed 29-28 on the final play in overtime two weeks later.
Truth be told, even knowing what we know now, Minami would have been better off winning that game. But what happened as a result of those losses certainly makes the South feel good these days.
Because now the Mounties are the big winners.
South learned from the loss, continued to work hard and continued to improve, avenging both of its losses throughout the district and winning the District 4 Class A title last Friday at Muncie, 57-20. This came after South defeated two-time defending champion Canton 24-18 on its home field in the semifinals a week ago. Out of defeat came two great victories.
“I needed that loss to make me want to win even more the second time.” center Owen Byrd said after helping Confederate gain 407 yards against Muncie. “I needed that loss to want to win more.”
South has been on a winning streak since the first game against Muncie, snapping a five-game winning streak, three of which came on the mercy rule. Rather than wallowing in defeat, South turned the loss into something meaningful. That ignited a team spirit that continues to burn today as the Mounties play District 6 champion Cambria Heights in Williamsport in the state quarterfinals on Saturday.
Often it’s not the defeat that defines a person, but how they react. South responded like a champ.
“It feels really good. We fought against adversity all season.” Running back/linebacker Kaiser Kisner said after running for 134 yards and two touchdowns against Muncie. “We lost to them and Canton earlier in the season and came back. The scoreboard shows how much we played.”
That was an important aspect after the defeat. Although it was a blow, the team’s determined spirit remained intact despite the loss. They just enhanced it.
Despite injuries and illness hitting the team hard in the middle of the season, South remained focused on the district award. As heartbreaking as it was for both players and coaches, they knew they weren’t the ones to define the season. They understood that it was important to get better every week and put themselves in the best position possible come playoff time.
South won its final three games of the regular season and then headed to Canton, holding off a wild second-half rally. The Mounties then broke a close game late in the first half and continued their momentum against Muncie, winning the program’s first district championship since 2014 and highlighting the team’s resilient character.
“We thought it should have been done from the beginning.” South coach Chris Eisworth said. “It was huge to come back and be able to do that. It wasn’t about revenge. It was just focus.”
Eisworth said he feels responsible for the two losses in the regular season. He felt that more could have been done to put the South in a more favorable position. Like the players, he and the coaching staff longed for a second chance and made the most of it.
The coaching staff worked hard for both district playoff games. The day before the game against Muncie, rain was in the forecast, which included dousing the soccer ball with water before forcing Bird to break it. It rained almost the entire game against Muncy, but South never made a wrong snap or fumbled the ball. The Mounties developed an effective game plan and executed it, turning a negative regular season into a major positive.
“I thought I was 10 times more prepared this time than last time.” Mr. Bird said. “I knew what they were going to do defensively, when to hit, and what to do.”
“I took responsibility for Canton and Muncie (losses). I thought I dropped the ball.” Eisworth said. “We got back to work and got through the injury. We slowly got our players back and (last Friday) it turned out exactly how we envisioned it.”
The revenge tour is complete, but the journey is not. After being pushed hard by two state-level opponents in district, South will face another good team in Cambria Heights. Like South, Cambria Heights had two regular-season defeats in the district, defeating defending champion Northern Cambria and second-seeded Purchase Line.
Saturday’s game could have its ups and downs. In that sense, the South side is well prepared. It proved that you know how to dig yourself out of a hole.
And the Equestrians certainly know how to turn back.
“That’s special.” Two-way starter Landin Gephardt said after rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown and also had an interception. “That loss was humiliating for us to say the least, but it felt really great to bounce back from that and win the district championship.”