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Warrior seniors hope to end with a win

Believe it or not, last week’s upset win over Misericordia was a blessing and a curse for Lycoming.

It was a blessing because the Warriors, coupled with three other outcomes, earned a spot in this week’s Centennial-MAC Bowl Series against Franklin & Marshall. It was a blessing because Lycoming reached five wins, a mark the team hasn’t reached since 2014. And, for at least a moment, the seniors held off the distinction of being the first graduating class at Lycoming since 1974 to have four consecutive losing seasons.

But it was a curse because at 5-5 there is still another game to play which could change that last point. A losing record is still possible after the Warriors play the Centennial’s fifth-place Diplomats today at noon.

It’s why this game means so much to this year’s seniors. A winning record is something which has eluded the group in their four years on campus. Posting a win against Franklin & Marshall will allow them to leave the program knowing they did their part in helping to right the ship and send Lycoming on an upwards trajectory.

“We’re going to embrace is as a blessing,” Lycoming coach Mike Clark said. “To most people it probably isn’t different, but to these guys, winning a sixth game is way different.”

“We know we didn’t have the best four years,” senior receiver John Kim said. “This game is here for us to let everyone know that we actually care and we want to turn the program around. It means a lot to us.”

Part of the draw of the Lycoming program to recruits is its history and legacy of sustained success. For a program which once had 29 consecutive winning seasons under Hall of Fame coach Frank Girardi, losing seasons have been about as common as a sighting of Haley’s Comet.

It’s part of the reason players like Kim and his classmates descended on Williamsport, to continue that legacy. After three consecutive losing seasons, the Warriors felt like they finally had a team which could snap its first streak of three losing seasons since the 1972-74 seasons. But three of their five losses have come by once score or fewer.

It’s been a frustrating four years for this senior class. But there’s hope in today’s game that they can finally snap that dreaded streak and leave the program trending in a direction they can be proud of.

“We didn’t come here to go four-and-six, three-and-seven, four-and-six and five-and-five,” senior center Brad Stubbs said. “But at the end of it all we can say we gave it our all and did what we could to try and get this back on track to be a winning program. We’re going to do everything we can (today) at noon to end it with a winning season and kick-start the program back into what it needs to be and keep the legacy moving.”

This is a new challenge for Lycoming. It’s facing a Franklin & Marshall program which it has faced only twice in its history and not since 1967. But the two teams are familiar with each other. Diplomats coach John Troxell is a good friend of Clark, and in recent years the two teams have met for a preseason scrimmage during the final week of fall camp. That was no different this year when F&M traveled to Williamsport for their scrimmage.

Lycoming offensive line coach Sami Caygoz and co-defensive coordinator Mark Surma both played for Troxell at F&M. Surma also coached at F&M for two years.

There’s a familiarity with the two programs even if they haven’t played one another in a game which has counted in 51 years.

“It’s not quite the same as if we were playing a MAC school that you play all the time,” Clark said. “But we do know a lot of people there. For our kids and our seniors, who all probably know someone playing there, they’re excited for the opportunity.”

What is riding on today’s game is not lost on Lycoming’s players. They’re well aware of what the football team means to its alums and how important it is to continue to be successful. It’s a family atmosphere where this year’s seniors already acknowledge they’ll be back to check up on the team at some point in the future.

And as much as this win is about restoring order to one of the most successful programs in the history of the Middle Atlantic Conference, it’s also about putting a positive conclusion on the here and now. The players know the history, both good and bad. They know their run hasn’t been what they imagined when they signed on to wear the blue and white uniforms.

“We tend to think about ourselves in the present and what’s happening now,” Kim said. “We weren’t here in the 1990s and the early 2000s. We have to focus on what we can do while we’re here now.”

“I would hate to be the blemish on the record saying we went five-and-six and never had a winning record,” Stubbs said. “That’s crazy to me. I don’t want to be part of the problem. I want to be part of the solution and kicking the team in the right direction. It’s a huge deal to all of us. We were upset when we thought we were finishing five-and-five. Now that we have this chance, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we’re finishing with a winning record.”

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