Vista football players thankful to be playing

eading into his grade 12 year Kyle Davidson was excited and looking forward to having one more kick at the can with his friends on the gridiron to close out his high school days. "I was just dying to play the whole summer."

The dream almost died. Tecumseh Vista was in need of a coach and couldn't find one. "We kept asking different coaches if they'd be able to step up."

Vista teacher Rob Fletcher was in as a teacher/team sponsor. Chris Goodyear came through as head coach and was able to help save the team in 11th hour. "I called the school and talked to the principal." Goodyear said. "She gave me a call back and asked me about my certification and everything else."

Goodyear took a couple of courses to ensure he was up to date. He attended a meeting during the first week of school and the team was given the green light to enter the league.

"A lot of us didn't think we were going to get the program." said fullback Kyle Strange. "Huge shoutout to the coaches and everybody that helps out. They sacrifice their time and energy, they came in clutch to help us do the program."

Coach Goodyear is thankful for the kind words but puts the credit back on the players. "I have to give a huge shout out to these kids for saving their own program. They really stepped up."

Goodyear described the heartwarming feeling of players shaking his hand the moment he took the field as their head coach. "They're an awesome group of kids that wanna learn and I'm just happy to be a part of their journey with them."

With only ten days of practice Goodyear couldn't be disappointed when his team got a little roughed up in their first game of the season in a 53-0 loss to St. Anne. "Not at all. We learned a lot and it showed tonight."

Strange scored three touchdowns Thursday night as the Vortex beat Massey 38-0 for their first win of the season. "We saw what we had and knew we had to make adjustments. We went back to basics and the kids performed." Goodyear said.

"It was great to get that W after a hard loss last week. It was a great bounce back win for us." said Davidson. "Massey played a great game too. It was a great game overall. The whole team is so thrilled."

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