Henderson International working to become 1A power

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Minutes after watching film of his team’s first game, Henderson International football coach Brett Price is shaking his head.

Price is not happy with what he saw. He says if the Wolverines continue to play like they did in their season opener, they will not be successful.

“Some of my assistants had watched it and given me a heads-up. They said it wasn’t very good,” Price said. “It wasn’t even close to not being very good. It was awful.”

The catch?

Henderson International beat the Lund Mustangs 68-0.

The score, however, is irrelevant for Price. He wants the Wolverines to fix their numerous mistakes and improve their blocking, which he described as horrible.

“I’m sure their backs are sore from getting patted on the back,” Price said. “But now they’ve seen it wasn’t good.”

Two years after not fielding a team, Henderson International has tremendous expectations this fall. Price and the players say their goal is simple: To compete for a state championship in 1A classification — an eight-man league.

“That’s why you play — for the big ones,” Price said. “I always tell these kids, in high school, I want you to play in big games. There’s nothing like it.”

It’s quite a turnaround for the Wolverines. For the entire 2007 season and half of 2006, they did not have a team.

The program folded after the beginning of 2006 when a number of players became academically ineligible. Interest waned in 2007 and Henderson International did not have enough players for a complete team.

That’s when Athletic Director Mike Ostrowski made the decision to focus on the eighth-grade class. It had a number of athletes who were interested in football so Henderson International put its resources into the middle school team.

It worked. That eighth-grade team turned into 2008’s varsity team, which went 7-1 playing an independent schedule because it was on probation by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association for canceling the 2006 season.

“We put them out there with the hope that they would develop and they did,” Ostrowski said. “The excitement to know we’ve got these kids for this year and two more years makes us think, ‘whoa, the future is bright.’”

So bright that Ostrowski has bigger visions for the Wolverines. He’d like to see them move up to 2A and play 11-man football as soon as next season.

No official decision will be made until after the season when the NIAA resumes re-alignment talks and Henderson International further ponders the idea.

But Ostrowski and Price are confident the Wolverines are talented enough to compete on a higher level. It’s all because of that sophomore class that compromised the middle school team two years ago.

Sophomore running back Jay Sutorius ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and returned two punts for touchdowns against Lund. Sophomore lineman Cole Fouch is one of the team’s leaders.

And sophomore receiver Keenan Gladd-Brown, a nationally ranked tennis player, is probably the Wolverines’ best pure athlete.

Henderson International will play Baker (Calif.) on the road this weekend. The Wolverines are promising a better effort than they showed in their first game.

“It was sloppy, but we learned from our mistakes,” Gladd-Brown said. “We’ll be ready for the next game.”