GREAT FALLS — The Centerville football team is off to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2009 with an average win margin of 37 points. However, the Miners don’t have their eyes on the state championship just yet, simply because they know they can’t win one without taking care of the regular season first.
“We’re just out here trying to win each game we play, and it’s been a good start to it so far,” said Miners coach Brian Davison. “We’ve accomplished what we wanted. Came in wanting to do one game at a time and so far we’ve done that, so we’re hoping we continue with that.”
“It feels good, but we can’t let it go to our heads," said middle linebacker Caden Olson. "We still have the toughest game of the season coming up. We have to stay focused."
The Miners are keeping their focus on the task directly ahead of them, but they are far from oblivious to the fact they have a shot at the state title. Davison told MTN that a state title game appearance is realistic for this Centerville squad.
“Obviously that's the goal of these guys," Davison said. "We’ve talked about it, but they also understand that right now we can’t win a state title. We’ve got Tri-Cities (Hobson-Moore) and we’ve got to take this game this week in order for us to get to where we want to be.”
The Miners were 4-3 last season and returned a big group of the guys from that team, but they have completely flipped the switch this season. Davison said the team is playing with more confidence this year than in the past and they have more belief in themselves, partially because they are the older kids on the field now and play with more physicality.
A few of the guys on the team would credit it the team chemistry they’ve built over the years.
“Honestly it’s probably just our teamwork,” said tight end Kale Annis. “We’ve all played together and been friends since we were in kindergarten. We’ve got a couple of new kids, but they’ve always fit right in.”
For a group of friends that grew up playing with one another, a state title would be a dream come true. But a title would also be significant to a Centerville community that has been waiting since 2006 for another one. The Miners have two state title appearances (1999 and 2006) in program history and came out of both games with victories.
Centerville's 2023 campaign continues Friday, as the Miners hit the road to face 3-3 Hobson-Moore in hopes of remaining perfect on the season.
