From winless to unbeaten: Fosston reaches semifinals with perfect record – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — Two years after going 0-9 in Class A Minnesota football, Fosston finished the regular season undefeated.

The 8-0 Greyhounds – in their second year of nine-man soccer – earned a quarterfinal bye and will face No. 3 Clearbrook-Gonvick in the Section 6 semifinals Saturday at 2 p.m. in Fosston.

“I think the biggest thing is just the buy-in from all the kids,” said Fosston coach Joe Woods, who is in his second year leading the program. “I think every single football player we have really trusts the process. They bought into the team ethos and what it means to be a Greyhound football player from the top down. Our seniors are great role models and our seniors do the right thing every day and that helps the younger kids follow along.

“Men trust each other. If you show up for strength training two days a week during the regular season when you have school and practice, they can trust you. Especially when it comes to the fourth quarter and you have to get a first down, that’s where trust is built – in the weight room and in the offseason.”

No. 2 seed Fosston didn’t get to that point by dominating every opponent this season, although the Greyhounds won four games by more than 18 points, including a 34-0 win over Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal, the The regular season ended on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

In Week 1, Fosston traveled to Hillcrest Lutheran and trailed 12-0 in the opening minutes before coming back for a 38-34 win.

The Greyhounds also had close games against Kittson County Central (32-27 win) and Park Christian (36-34 win).

“Our guys fought back against (those deficits),” Woods said. “When we came back from that adversity, it was huge. I think that helped us a lot throughout the year.”

Woods pointed to the entire senior class for getting Fosston to this point. That includes Ryne Duppong, who has just under half of Fosston’s total rushing yards (2,488) with 1,161 per year.

“You can always replace the athlete, but I really don’t think we can replace the young men when they leave this program,” Woods said. “These guys as a whole lead by example every day — not just on the football field, but in the way they carry themselves in the hallways in high school, how they handle themselves on a day-to-day basis, on weekends, when they’re in the community, the way they interact with people is just… you can’t replace that. That will be difficult to replace.

“You can replace an offensive lineman or a running back or whatever, but just the character that they bring to our program, it’s going to be difficult to fill those shoes.”

Fosston’s seniors have at least one more game on their schedule when Clearbrook-Gonvick comes to town.

The Greyhounds defeated the 3-6 Bears 29-18 in Week 4.

“Playoffs are the second season,” Woods said. “It’s 0-0. I told the guys after our last regular season game to enjoy it tonight, but when you come back to practice tomorrow, it’s a fresh start. It’s like we’re starting over. That’s when we really tried to head home this week. You have to prepare so that this is your last Monday practice ever as if it was your last Tuesday practice ever because if we don’t prepare and don’t do our job, it’s going to be the last practice of the year, especially for our seniors. It will be the last time they put on the uniform.

“Clearbrook is a really good football team. They do a lot of really good stuff. They are well trained. They have good athletes. To win this game and continue the push in the playoffs, we have to do our job all week long because games are won in practice, not just in game time.”