Shawn McDowell Quotations

We've almost reached celebrity status here after beating Sullivan. We were in the Labor Day parade in Bicknell Monday, and people were coming out of the crowd and shaking our hands and patting us on the back.

We've always thought this senior class had the physical skills, it was a matter of them jelling together as a unit. A year can make a big difference both mentally and physically and the kids have really matured.

We've got to make sure we're not too proud of ourselves, maintain and keep going. We need to keep up the pressure and do the things that we've been doing to make us successful. Friday is an important game.

We've talked a lot about that in practice this week. We have to continue our work ethic and not get overconfident with everyone patting us on our shoulders. This isn't a bad thing, but we have to handle it right.

I was really pleased with our first half. The belly play was good to us and they couldn't stop our fullback in the first half with Mitch and Josh. That's where we had Harrell in the second half. I'm disappointed we didn't score on our second series after we got first-and-goal, but I started improvising and sort of got cute. I should have stayed with what we were doing.

Mike Harrell is one of those kids that when it's crunch time, he's on the front burner of who I'm giving the ball to. But I could point to a lot of kids who made big plays for us.

We have been working on the pass, believe me. We could see they were playing a 6-3 with no safety and Cox came through with a good pass. He's only a sophomore and is getting his confidence up.

This start is great for the kids, the coaching staff and the community. I thought we had the potential. The kids have really come around.

The players have received a lot of pats on the back and the fans are starting to look at the schedule and throw out some numbers on how many wins we're going to have. We're emphasizing to the players that the party's over, we have a two-hour bus ride ahead of us and we have to find the energy that we had in the first half last Friday and apply it to Eastern.

The Sullivan game gave us something to believe in. It was a very satisfying win. I told the kids after the game I was speechless and I usually always have something to say.

It was good for us to experience a game like this because we have had our way the first four games. That second drive of ours was crucial, because it was a big confidence-builder for them. My hat's off to them. They were prepared and they frustrated our linemen.

The interceptions couldn't have come at a better time. It seemed like Sullivan got beat up as the game went on and it's not often you can beat up a Sullivan team.

The four wins were an early goal, but I think we need to make an adjustment to that. Because right now the coaching staff and the kids are not satisfied with just four wins.

The crowd was tremendous. The kids were in awe with how many were here. We didn't give them a lot of flash, but we did give them a 20-0 Warrior win on homecoming.