Using football as a bonding effort

For 48 minutes on Sid White Field, Strizich and his 19 teammates exhausted every inch of energy in their bodies for a greater good.

The team.

The family.

“I would advise everyone to keep strong and keep with it,” said Strizich, who had 2.5 tackles in Friday’s game. “We are going to grow as a family from beginning to end. The score may indicate that we got beat by a lot, but I think we played our hearts out and gave everything we had and that is all that matters.”

All it takes is a little success and belief and the confidence and drive that a football team can reach the highest of peaks.

So it is that the likes of seniors Devin Wilson, Chance Brace, Bryce Belanger, Strizich, Leo Hernandez, Bo Dalanan, Colton Walker, Cash Mathewson and Damion Morris, who are much more than players, are participating in their last year of football competition.

These seniors are part of a group that has been constantly over-looked, but one that overachieved and played with heart, desire and passion.

However, there is much more to this team than offense, touchdowns and wins.

They are the definition of team, men on a mission, willing to do whatever it takes to represent The Dalles football.

TD has come together.

With each player growing and learning from each game.

The lessons learned will carry them to adulthood, as fathers, as role models and as future strongholds in their households and the community.

“It is not all about winning. It is all about family. We got everyone out here playing for each other,” said Morris, who had a 93-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter of Friday’s game. “If you have a family, you bond every day and you go out with your football team and you give it your all with them. Winning doesn’t come first. Family comes first. Once you have a team going in the same direction, playing for each other, then you start winning.”

The names and the talents on the roster are not littered with Division I talent, but with a focus and belief that with dedication, teamwork and success would be attained.

Strizich, Wilson and Morris take pride in the fact that they sacrificed so much for the good of the team.

A small school, in 5A regards, the Hawks have been able to piece together depth through hard knocks and tough practices, long film studies and hard work.

All of those hours in the weight room went unnoticed.

All of the repetitions were not just for personal gain, but more of a responsibility to teammates to work as hard as or harder than they have through the years to try to build a reputable and winning program.

“We are, even when we lose, still a family and a brotherhood. Nothing can change that,” said Wilson, who had 10 catches for 154 yards and 73 yards rushing against Hermiston Friday. “All I can hope for and say is, that football isn’t just a sport, it’s a lifestyle and a bond. People that haven’t played before won’t know what I’m talking about, but the people that have will, and you will never get that anywhere else. Yes, football for Steve Sugg is hard, I’m not going to lie to anybody, but man, if The Dalles had numbers, you think Hermiston is good, you would see good. I believe in football here and always will, because I went through the system and got my butt beat and had a good career.”

Once Morris graduates, his biggest goal is that these Riverhawks can use this 2015 campaign as the breeding ground for success down the road.

Not too long ago, The Dalles endured the same process, going from one win in 2008 to the playoffs in 2009.

“Our younger classes have a lot of kids coming out. In a couple of years, we are going to have a pretty big team and we will start going back up,” Morris said. “Our coaches, they are doing the best they can with what we got. We don’t have any numbers. No matter how good of a coach you are, you got to have numbers.”

Talent, skills and size will not deny this group of hustlers, fighters and gridiron warriors.

Heart and pride describe what they are dealing with on a daily basis.

They believe, they care and they will do just about anything to ensure that the loveable loser stigma is switched into a moniker that can never be taken away – champions.

“Athletics is a good tool for teaching life lessons,” said TD head coach Steve Sugg. “It is not about the wins and losses, it is about teaching these young men how to succeed in life, after football. Hopefully, by being part of a team and learning how to handle adversity and working hard for a common goal, teaching accountability, brotherhood, togetherness and discipline, those are all skills that they can use later on in life. Lifelong skills that will help you become successful later on down the road. Those are things you cannot get in the classroom and they can’t get it unless they are playing sports.”

The Dalles (1-5 overall, 0-1 league) next travels to Pendleton (2-5, 0-1) for a league contest starting at 7 p.m. in Pendleton.