This week’s Q&A

The Brookfield Warriors have not had a winning football season since 1994.

But after a big win over Niles last week the Warriors are 3-3 and pushing to break that barrier this year, according to Randy Clark.

“We’ve had only three 5-5 teams since 1994,” said Clark, who is in his seventh season as head coach.

“The old timers around here will tell you we were a powerhouse in football but that was back in the ’70s and ’80s.

“I’m from Brookfield as is my entire staff and our goal is to get Brookfield football back on top again.”

Clark was a freshman on the 1978 Brookfield team that defeated Hamilton Badin 28-0 to win the Class AA state championship. He played for legendary coach John Delserone and was a senior in Delserone’s final season before he passed away from ALS.

Clark has great memories of those times in Brookfield football and would like nothing more than to restore that glory to the Division V school.

The reason for much of the optimism in Brookfield these days is that the Warriors have left the rugged All-American Conference and are operating as an independent.

“When we were in the All-American Conference and the TAC-8 before that we were always playing up as the smallest school in those leagues,” Clark said. “I think we have the opportunity now to be competitive and it has motivated our players and the community.”

The Warriors have struggled lately with getting players out. Last year, Brookfield had only 26 players on the team and 24 the year before that.

This year is a different story. There are 43 players on the team and only five of them are seniors. The strength of the team lies in its young players and Clark is encouraged about Brookfield moving forward.

A win tonight on homecoming against a 4-2 Mathews team will go a long way toward restoring some luster to Brookfield football and maybe even get the “P-word” (playoffs) uttered once again.

Q. How exciting was the win over a good Division III team, Niles?

A. It was a big win. It was very exciting for the whole student body and the team. The morale at school this week was very up beat so that victory means alot to us.

Q. How important then is this week’s homecoming game against Mathews?

A. It is very important. This has the potential to be a great situation for us because we have won two in a row and have the chance to win three straight for the first time in a while. It is a very critical game if we are to reach some of our goals and turn things around here.

Q. What do you attribute the new enthusiasm for football that has resulted in your increased participation this year?

A. It’s early to say but I think that going independent has made the difference. Kids these days don’t want to get their heads bashed in week after week without anything to show for it. I think that smart scheduling can help us win more games and I think the kids are recognizing that. We have strong growth in our junior high programs as well so I think we are looking strong for the next three or four years.

Q. The words “Resolve” and “Determination” are all over your program this year. How has this new attitude developed and where is the motivation coming from?

A. Our biggest thing this year is team unity. Our motto here is “CTMT” which means “Climb The Mountain Together.” All our kids and coaches are linked together in this challenge together. Our main motivation is team unity and family unity and all our kids have bought into this and it is really working out.

Q. What was it like to play for John Delserone and are there things that you learned from him that drives you today?

A. It was truly and honor and great experience to play for a man like coach Delserone. I think I learned discipline and how to deal with adversity the most from him and that still shapes my coaching style. The biggest thing I learned from him is that you live life to the fullest every day and when you are called on to respond to a tough situation, you do the right thing. As a coach, he was way ahead of his time in preparation and getting the kids motivated and ready to play. I try to emulate that every day.

Q. Are the playoffs something on your players minds yet this season?

A. Well … we jumped nine spots with our win last week but we really aren’t talking about it yet. We talk about getting better each week. We’ve only talked about Brookfield football since week one in the sense that we don’t care what anybody else does, we just care what we did. We had one goal and that was team unity. We don’t care who scores as long as we get a win.

Interview by Chuck Housteau.