It’s all in for Lorain. At least in the eyes of its senior class. Defining the season comes down to this week, and it’s going to be either a success or failure. If the Titans make their first postseason appearance since reforming in 2010, the season is a success. If they don’t, the season is a failure, despite the first winning record for the Titans program. ‘If we don’t make the playoffs, I’ll feel like we didn’t do anything,’ running back Sherman Saunders said. ‘I feel like people will look at us like, ‘Oh, it’s the same old Lorain.” With a 6-3 record, the Titans have already become the most successful team since Lorain High School came back. Heading into their Week 10 showdown with Warren Harding, the Titans are the No. 13 seed in the Division I, Region 1 playoff race. A win would most likely put them in. A loss would knock them out. So, in reality, losing is not an option for the Titans. ‘It’s been great coming in as a senior and knowing that we had a good team,’ Saunders said. ‘Since the beginning of this year, we knew that we were going to finish and go to the playoffs. We know that we are great, and it’s time for us to show it.’ Quarterback Eddie Williamson agreed. ‘When we lost our first game (against Midview), I thought it was going to be the same old thing,’ he said. ‘Then we came out and started steamrolling. That’s when I realized we have something this year and that we needed to take it somewhere. We’re a good team and we’re proving it.’
It is that mindset from the seniors, according to coach Dave McFarland, that has Lorain on the cusp of greatness. ‘When I came in, we talked with the seniors about changing the culture (of Lorain football),’ McFarland said. ‘They responded. They started to do the things that winners do. They started doing things that the St. Ignatiuses, St. Edwards, the Avon high schools do. They believed in themselves, both on and off the field. It started with them and it’s taken hold with the younger players.’ One thing McFarland said he was particularly proud of was the way the seniors have caused the other players to realize that football is not everything. Hard work in the classroom goes hand-in-hand with football success. ‘One of the things that we stressed to them is academics,’ McFarland said. ‘The grading period came out a week ago, and we had zero kids ineligible. ‘So, you know, everyone can talk about football, but they’re doing the things that need to be done. They are bettering themselves, their teammates and they are really developing into men of great character.’ The seniors acknowledge that McFarland talking with them was the turning point for this team.
‘I feel like he brought the light to the team,’ free safety/running back Aaron Neal said. ‘Sophomore year we lost (coach Mark) Solis, then we lost (Tony) Shoulders. I mean, we’ve had three coaches and they told us the same thing every year, ‘We’re going to be good. We’re going to be successful. This, this and that.’ But with McFarland, you feel it, the positive vibes that he brings to the team.’ McFarland, though, refuses to take any of the credit. ‘When I got here, we really started with four football players,’ he said. ‘(Seniors) Rashod Berry, Aaron Neal, Eddie Williamson and Sherman Saunders. That was it. I know there’s a couple other seniors with experience, but the point is we didn’t have much. Those seniors took the ball and ran with it. We were only going to be as good as they were. They strived for greatness and the others followed their lead. We wouldn’t be playing in a Week 10 game that has meaning for once if it were not for them and the leadership they have shown. They deserve to be commended and their efforts noticed.’ Their efforts have indeed been noticed. At one time, George Daniel Field was a place avoided on Friday nights. Now, it is a packed house of Titans fans. And the players have noticed, too. ‘I think right away we showed the community that we had something going on,’ Neal said. ‘We showed this isn’t the same Lorain team. We’re not going to win one and then lose the next four. ‘The fans have noticed. I mean, the crowd has been consistent. We’ve had large numbers in the crowd on Friday nights. We’ve been trying to get the tone to ‘It’s Friday. Lorain’s playing. We’ve got to go.’ I think we’re getting close. It’s different. People are coming to practices and they want to see what we’re doing.’ It’s that support that Neal said drives the Titans for greatness. ‘In the past, if we let them down it was just, ‘Oh look, Lorain is being Lorain,” he said. ‘This year, that’s not it. If we let them down, people will actually be disappointed. We don’t want that to happen. We want to be winners. We want to make the playoffs. We don’t want to be the same old Lorain that people expect.’
