Pigskin preview: Mohawks look to establish themselves among Eight-Man elite
Aug. 25—MORAVIA — Moravia beating New London? Unthinkable.
Moravia beating Martensdale-St. Mary's? Inconceivable.
The Mohawks spent most of last season proving that nothing is impossible. On the way to posting a 7-3 record, qualifying for the Eight-Man playoffs, Moravia took down some top-quality programs including a season-opening 38-26 win at New London scoring all 14 points in the fourth quarter to rally past the Tigers before scoring 30 points in the final 12 minutes of a 76-64 win over Martensdale-St. Mary's just two weeks later.
"Moravia is on the map right now with the athletes we have representing us," Moravia head football coach Matt Messamaker said. "There's a couple more teams we'd still like to take down. If everything works out right, we'll get those wins. Right now, we're still a team that's going to take everything one week at a time until we get there.
"The boys are excited about it. They've got their goals."
Moravia's special season last fall was spear-headed by quarterback Shane Helmick, who finished third in the state with 39 touchdown passes. At times last season, Helmick led the entire state in passing yards ultimately finishing with 2,400 yards through the air posting a 147.6 passer rating.
"It was pretty exciting when people would send you text messages showing you the statewide statistics after week five and seeing your name up at the top of those rankings," Helmick said. "It definitely gives me some confidence going into this season. I have a lot of confidence in this team. We're going to be good."
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
