International’s football program rolling again

By Jared Harmon

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | midnight

After a year and a half without a football team, the Friday night lights are shining again at Henderson International School.

The Wolverines had their season canceled midway through the 2006 season when a handful of players on their already short roster were declared academically ineligible. The season was canceled before it started in 2007 because of lack of interest, but after a strong showing at the middle school level, football is back at the 1A private school.

"This is a big step — going from no team for almost two years to diving right in — but it's a step in the right direction," Athletic Director Mike Ostrowski said. "It's bringing excitement back to the school. We're getting cheerleaders involved and a spirit band and fans. Football gets a lot of kids involved."

They opened last Friday with a 52-0 victory against Sandy Valley.

Henderson International is on probation with the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, the governing body for prep sports in Nevada, for canceling its season and must compete in an independent schedule without the opportunity to reach the playoffs for one year.

Like all 1A programs, for school's of 169 students or less, the Wolverines play 8-man football.

Returning senior Jonathan Dapper, a center and nose tackle, said it will be frustrating to be locked out of the postseason but he recognizes his new role with the reborn team.

"It was tough to miss out on my sophomore and junior year of football and it's going to be tougher to play for something you can't win," Dapper said. "But, as one of only two seniors on the team (along with Vinh Thai), my role is to help (the underclassmen) prepare for next year. It's all about them now."

Several of those underclassmen were part of the school's undefeated middle school team last fall. Unlike public schools, Henderson International and other private schools have a small slate of athletic programs for the non-high school grades.

"The middle school kids had a great year last year and I expect that team to keep feeding us quality kids," coach Brett Price said. "The freshman class we have right now is the key to our athletic future."

Price calls freshman running back/linebacker Jay Sutorious and lineman Cole Fouch players he can build around.

Fouch was excited to see football return and is looking forward to starting a new tradition for the Wolverines.

"Football is basically my life," Fouch said. "When I heard they had to cancel the season last year I was nervous. It feels good to see it back and know that in the future we can look at the team and say, 'We brought this back. We got this program running again.' It's going to be a tough year but if we work hard I know we can push through."

Jared Harmon is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].