Bearcat winning culture

Some day in the not-so-distant future, the ball is going to bounce favorably for the H&H Bearcats and the wins will come rolling in.
In the final two weeks of the regular season, the H&H football team put itself in position to win games over quality Class C2 playoff teams and just couldn’t quite get over the hump. 
The Bearcats finished its first 11-man football season with a 1-8 record, but you never would have thought that just by looking at the faces on the sidelines or in the postgame huddle.
Every week, the Bearcats came back to work, lunch pails in hand, and went to work. The record didn’t matter. Each week’s result didn’t matter. 
Having fun mattered. Playing together mattered. Being Bearcats mattered.
Some of the best moments I’ve had watching high school football this fall have come from the H&H sidelines, end result notwithstanding. 
How about that season-opener up in Schuyler? Remember back to a time when the sun was still shining well past 7 p.m.? The sunlight glistening off the silver H&H helmets was perfect, really, as the day ended with a dominant 43-0 win in the Bearcats’ first-ever 11-man football game.
It was a group of guys who genuinely couldn’t have been happier. It looked like the Bearcats were closing in on a state title victory, not just its first-ever win as a group.
Sure, they didn’t taste success on the scoreboard past that night in August. But one thing was certain -- they played like winners.
An opportunity to spoil Bridgeport’s Homecoming game in mid-September, coming up a single point short. 
Two weeks ago at Wilber-Clatonia, the pads popping and the mouth pieces asking for more. A real opportunity to take down a Class C2 playoff team that just wasn’t meant to be that night.
Last Friday, too. On its home field, a playoff team on the other side and the Bearcats had a chance to walk off the season in a way many teams don’t -- winners. 
It didn’t happen, but it sure wasn’t for lack of effort. 
The evidence was in the post-game huddle, surrounded by all of Bearcat Nation. Coach Jereme Jones has preached it for the last several months.
Three communities. Two schools. One team.
We are in a time right now where football teams are dropping down classes and sometimes forfeiting games and seasons altogether.
Not very often is someone moving up multiple classifications. The H&H Bearcats did that and embraced it. 
A bunch of kids who only knew the life of 8- and 6-man football. Those versions of the game aren’t better or worse, they’re enjoyable in their own unique way.
Watching Hampton and Heartland kids come together as part of a new team and identity has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. 
Do what’s best for the kids. Give them the opportunity to thrive. Winning doesn’t just happen on the scoreboard. Hampton and Heartland have done that. Soon, it will translate to wins on the football field. This inaugural Bearcat squad will be a huge reason why. 
For now, these fellas are winners away from it. That matters, too. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.