MUNCIE, Ind. — For most high school football programs, a winning record would be satisfactory. However, at Eastbrook High School, a season without a championship of any sort could be considered a loss.
Head Coach Jeff Adamson – who in 1982 filled the same shoes as his players do now as a member of Eastbrook’s football team – took the reins of the program in the late 80s and never looked back. In the 37 years that “Coach A” (as referred to by his players) has been at the helm, the Panthers have won 17 conference championships and 16 sectional championships. Eastbrook has also competed in four state title games under Adamson’s leadership.
It’s no question Adamson knows what it takes to win, and after suffering their first losing season in a decade last year, his players are picking up on it too.
“Eastbrook always has a high expectation, and I think now we’re reaching that,” said senior quarterback and safety Bodie Howell, who tossed two touchdown passes in the Panthers’ victory over Madison-Grant Friday evening.
“The last two years we’ve kind of fallen down a little bit, but we know what we need to do, and how we need to do it,” added Howell.
Coach Adamson believes that just like all of his great Eastbrook teams of the past, the key to success is forged before the season begins.
“The guys just bought into everything we did in the off-season. We had guys doing speed workouts in the hallways back in January. (We) had a great turnout for stuff in the summer. The guys really pull from each other, and hold each other accountable, and do good things like that,” claimed Adamson.
Although they’ve made an undefeated record look relatively easy to achieve for the first seven weeks of the season, win number eight would be their hardest-earned. Next on the schedule is undefeated Mississinewa, who has won the Central Indiana Conference in back-to-back years, filling a void that Eastbrook has left empty for three straight seasons. To overcome the challenge, Adamson knows consistency is going to be key.
“They understand that two weeks from now doesn’t matter if we don’t take care of business today. I think they’ve been really good too about understanding how important it is to be good at every rep in practice, every play during the game, and not trying to look ahead or get upset about a play that happened previously,” mentioned Adamson, on his team’s work ethic through the back half of the season.
The Panthers will host Mississinewa on Friday at 7 p.m., with a conference championship on the line.
Contact Jayden Collins with comments at jayden.collins@bsu.edu.
