The Kent Lions’ Varsity Football team has grown significantly over the past year, with new players and recruits joining the program and returners benefiting from the coaching of Head Coach Ben Martin, who is going into his second year running the program.
Martin has done an excellent job of motivating and identifying players who, like the rest of the team, show enthusiasm and willingness to compete at such high levels. Many players from the previous football season spent their offseason focusing on improvement. They are unstinting in their desire to improve, and these intentions have not been expressed by their words, but by their actions on the field.
The Kent vs Hotchkiss season opener on Saturday, September 14th resulted in a 57-24 landslide victory for the Lions. The Lions’ offensive managed a record-breaking 109 rushing yards and six touchdowns; they also made 11/17 of their passing attempts resulting in 373 passing yards. Despite Hotchkiss’ powerful offensive line, our defense managed to sack Hotchkiss’ quarterback once and made eight tackles. The Lions were leading 7-0 and 28-0 at the end of the first and second quarters respectively. In the third and fourth quarters, Hotchkiss managed to score a meager 24 points, but it was not enough. The Varsity Football team scored a touchdown in the third quarter along with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, which resulted in 28 more points for the Lions.
The win has instilled a sense of pride and optimism; more than just a victory, it is a product of the team’s discipline and hard work. Coach Martin described this game as one of those very short periods where “good things can happen.” He believes that the result of this game may have changed these athletes as a whole.
The primary focus of this team has never been on its results, but on fostering the “development of the individual” and trying to improve each day. Coach Martin expects this from the entire team, from the senior captain to the freshmen. The goal has always been to “attack that way” of improvement by setting standards for the team and trying to up those standards each day. He claims that this should have “a trickling effect” on their players in other aspects of their lives.
