Participating in the Mid-State athletic conference is no joke, especially in a sport as physical as football. Being a smaller sized school playing in a conference full of bigger schools with more, and larger, athletes leads to every single game being both a mental and physical battle.

Playing against a 5A school, especially one at the caliber of Decatur Central (3-2), is no easy task. With more than 100 rostered players, the Hawks outnumber the Woodmen by nearly 30 athletes. 

“Playing in our conference every week you look across the field and see the other sideline and it seems like they have a ton of guys over there,” senior Jaxton McClain, lineman, said. “All these 5 and 6A schools in our conference just have so many players it’s ridiculous. Even when we’re at home and all of our underclassmen dress, it still seems like they have double the amount of players as us.”

With a larger portion of student-athletes, the sample sizes for skill and athletic ability are also much higher. Decatur has been a powerhouse over the last decade in Mid-State football. Winning the conference championship a total of five times along with three shared titles. Of those championships, six have come in the same amount of years. 

“Obviously, they have dominated the conference basically every year for as long as I can remember,” senior Brock Riddle, quarterback, said. “Even in the 2017 season when we had an amazing team that went to the Semi-State, Decatur was at the top and winning the conference. It just seems like no matter what happens and no matter who they lose they just keep developing talent.”

The last time the Woodmen won the conference in football was more than 10 years ago. The 2012 season saw a team that went a near perfect 5-1 in conference play (9-2). This year, the Woodmen are working hard to turn the ship and head back in the right direction to compete at the top of the conference again.

“We’ve had a better season overall,” junior Alex Skinner, offensive lineman, said. “We aren’t necessarily winning the conference, but we are getting into the right direction. We always talk with Coach Watson about not being where we used to be but we still aren’t where we want to be. We understand that it’s a process, and we may not see it in our time here, but maybe the classes below us and those athletes can bring Greenwood back to the top.”

The storyline of Decatur football is their aggressive style of play. With a big front on both offense and defense and extremely talented athletes at the skill positions, the Hawks will be tough to contain on the turf.

“They are massive all down the line,” McClain said. “They always have been, and they play big, too. They use their size and their strength to beat you down and wear you out. Along with the other big schools in the Mid-State, they use their physicality to win the mental battle if you let them.” 

The key to winning on the scoreboard is winning inside the head. Cutting out mistakes and turning those from Decatur into opportunities of their own can create opportunities to win the mental battle. 

“Football is one of the most mentally demanding sports,” Riddle said. “It’s such a long game with so much opportunity, and if I were to let one mistake or one missed throw ruin my whole game, then I would never be successful. We as a team need to limit our mistakes and capitalize on any mistakes made by them. If we can create points off of turnovers then we can be in a good position to win this game.”

GHS football will take on Decatur tonight at home at 7 p.m.