Meath Park gridders picture of perfection

The members of the Meath Park Mustangs football squad have been friends for years and it's paying off on the gridiron this season.

The K-12 Meath Park School has just 320 students, so the relationships many of the players on the team have with each other go back to early childhood. That, along with some strong veterans who are leading the way, has led to the Mustangs going undefeated during the regular season.

The Mustangs posted six wins during the regular schedule in conference play in the Fort Carlton Six Man Football League.

Grade 12 Meath Park linebacker Chad Grubbe said the team's chemistry is its biggest asset.

"We know how to pick people up when they're down, get them turned around and get their heads in the game," explained fellow linebacker Levi Kosowan. "Some days they're just off and you know how to rile them up.

"Overall, we fit together well as a team."

Football at Meath Park School began in the early 1960s, according to current head coach Brian Swystun. This is the first time the Mustangs have gone undefeated in the regular season since 1976.

Meath Park squeaked past Hague 24-20 on Thursday to keep the perfect record intact. The first-place Mustangs will open the playoffs at home against the eighth-place finisher.

"We don't expect anything, but we're going to do our best to get as far as we can," Kosowan said.

Quarterback Nolan Forrest, who's been with the team for five years, has seen the Mustangs rise from the depths of the league to going into playoffs with their eyes on a championship.

Last season, the Mustangs finished above .500 and made it to the quarter-finals, but prior to that, they averaged just one or two wins per season.

"We changed our offence to better fit the players that we had," Kosowan said. "We changed it from a conventional into a spread offence, so we could use our speed and agility to beat them, because we didn't have the size that it took."

Swystun has enjoyed seeing his young players mature over the years.

"It's been very rewarding," he said. "From a coaching perspective, you look at these kids and you know the potential that they have inside. To see them reach that potential, on the football field and in the classroom, is very special."

Forrest, who joined the team in Grade 8 as a defender, when he was limited to practising and cheering his team on from the sidelines because of his age, has been a big part of the team's success.

"Your best player has to be your quarterback and Nolan brings everything to our team," Swystun said. "He's got speed, he's blessed with athleticism, he's got a great arm and he makes good decisions on the football field."

tpruner@paherald.sk.ca