Asked how the conversation around his program has changed after Harding ended a 28-game losing streak one week and started a modest winning streak the next, Knights coach Otto Kraus had a moment of bluntness: “Honestly, it’s just two wins,” he said.
That’s not to say Kraus doesn’t understand the importance of snapping the program’s three-season losing streak or getting off to a strong start. It’s just that this doesn’t feel like the final destination in this program’s ascension.
“I expect to win more games,” senior running back Emmanuel Hawkins said. “I come into games expecting we’re going to win 100 percent of the time.”
That might sound like misguided confidence for a player in a program that has lost so often over the past three seasons, but there is a reason for it. Hawkins said the Knights practice to win. They work in the summer with winning in mind. And that has been the case for a couple years now, Kraus noted, in the pursuit of establishing a culture where hard work is considered fun and worthwhile.
These wins to start the season — an overtime victory over Humboldt followed by a win over Highland Park — have reaffirmed the belief in that process.
“There is no easy way to win a varsity football game. It takes 11 people working as hard as they can on every play, being able to let go of mistakes and move on to the next play,” Kraus said.
The coach was “cautiously optimistic” heading into this season, knowing that he had young talent and strong senior leadership, plus a group that had put in the necessary time to build strong team bonds and would be willing to put in the necessary effort to compete.
The strength of this team, Harding sophomore quarterback Robert Htoo said, is that it plays for one another. Perhaps that’s been the reason why this group has made the late-game plays necessary to win contests it may have lost in previous seasons.
“We’ve been working our butts off ever since the beginning of summer,” Htoo said. “We were one of the first teams that actually came out and worked out, and I think that’s what helped us to keep going, even in the fourth quarter, even in overtime. That’s what kept pushing us.”
Getting that first win Week 1 over Humboldt, Kraus noted, removed the proverbial “monkey off the back” of the program, and instilled a belief about what was possible.
“It felt incredible. … Just to see that everybody was smiling, everybody was happy, it definitely was worth doing,” Htoo said. “We’re able to have more smiles, have more laughter with one another. We’re able to bond with each other more, just because of the success we’ve had.”
The early wins, Hawkins said, help keep players new to the program in the program. It’s easy to want to bolt from a team that loses every Friday, but you want to stick around when you’re having success. Hawkins said the team’s numbers are up this fall. There is palpable excitement surrounding the program.
Sitting at 2-0, this season now looks different for Harding, which will put its undefeated record on the line at 5 p.m. Friday with a game at Central.
“Instead of having to search through the schedule and see where can we find a win, it feels like we can go into any game, and as long as we work hard for four quarters, we can be in a game and we can be ready to compete in a game,” Kraus said. “You can feel that’s from the kids approaching it … from a position of confidence in what we’re doing and what we’re trying to do here. Instead of hoping that the win is going to happen, we have an expectation that as long as we do our jobs, we can be in a game and perhaps win a game, which is awesome.”
Hawkins said years of work have been building toward these victories. There is a foundation now in place that Htoo said the program will continue to build upon.
“It’s a very good foundation,” Hawkins said, “and I feel like it will lead to success …”
He quickly caught himself, as he came to a realization in that moment.
“It already has.”
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High school football: Long losing streak behind it, Harding expects continued success - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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