Going undefeated for one season is impressive. Finishing undefeated in back-to-back seasons, that’s the stuff of legends.
The Goshen Warriors eighth-grade football team capped off an undefeated season with a 40-0 road win over New Richmond on Oct. 9. This group went a combined 16-0 throughout middle school, 20-0 including scrimmages.
Trinden Brooker served as S/WR for the Warriors. He credits his team’s success to a committed coaching staff.
“It took a lot of hard work. Our coaches pushed us for sure, and we got pushed to our limits. It feels amazing,” he described.
A good portion of the players on this team have been playing with each other since a very young age. RB/LB Hayden Hopkins feels that a second straight unbeaten season is a culmination of a strong support system that he and his teammates have benefited from their whole lives.
“{We had} good coaches all the way throughout youth. Good parenting throughout the group.”
Hopkins described the relationship he and his teammates have with each other as a “brotherhood.”
One of the key players on the team was QB Kellan Plavsic, who led a very efficient offense in both seventh and eighth grade. He described this moment as “surreal.”
The Goshen varsity team hasn’t had a winning season since 2019. Philip Tudor, who coached this team in both seventh and eighth grade, and also helps coach the varsity team, thinks these kids can help in a big way at the high school level.
“They’re a very hardworking group. They’re level-minded kids. There’s quite a few kids that will step up right off the bat at the high school level.”