First playoff game in Western history takes team to scene of lopsided affair
By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Parma – The top objective this season, and for many that came before it, was to find a way to reach the postseason. Mission accomplished for the 2015 Western football team.
Now, the Panthers might as well get a little greedy.
“We reached our main goal, but we don’t need to be done,” coach Dave Mifsud said of his squad. “We don’t need to be satisfied.”
Having never reached the postseason before, Western closed the regular season in style, beating Dexter High 28-0 to finish 6-3 and kick start a wild celebration.
“I’m not sure I’ve entirely been here long enough to understand what’s happened around here. But Friday night was fun and exciting,” Mifsud, in his third year with the program, said.
Mifsud led Dearborn High to a 108-58 record, 11 playoff berths and two semifinal appearances in D-2 during his tenure there.
“To have that goal reached, and have the community there to support and celebrate with us was special,” Mifsud added. “To hear our names called Sunday night was an absolute blast.”
But he said there’s no reason to stop now, all the while understanding the challenge that awaits Friday night when his team travels to take on a 9-0 Coldwater squad.
“We picked a pretty darn good team to play,” Mifsud said.
And one the Panthers are familiar with thanks to a 34-0 setback in Week 4.
“I think we learned what we did wrong and what we need to be better at,” the Panthers’ coach said. “We’re going to hopefully improve on that. We played a lot better the past five games since then.”
That 34-point loss set the Panthers at 2-2 at the time, casting into doubt whether the streak of playoff misses would ever end.
But since that loss, Western went 4-1, with the lone setback a 12-7 loss to Lumen Christi.
So what has to be different this time around?
“It’s all about execution,” Mifsud said. “Coldwater is a very good team with good players and good coaching. Then again, they have a lot of kids that are similar to us. They play hard like we do. They execute well, and that’s what we have to do.”
And they aren’t unbeatable, despite what the record may suggest.
“That’s no disrespect to Coldwater, but we don’t think they’re invincible,” Mifsud said. “They’ve had a very good season, but we feel it’s a team we can play well against, and if we do, we can make the game very interesting.”
Keep it close, and who knows what could happen?
But above all else, cherish what’s going on here with this program right now — because nobody has had this chance before.
“One of our themes and mottos all year is to play hard and have fun,” Mifsud stressed. “We’re trying not to do much different than what we’ve been doing all year. We had a good week of practice the week we lost to them. We’re going to go out, play hard and be demanding. And at the same time, we’re going to enjoy this.”
Why not? It’s been a long time in the making.
The game will air on JTV and JTV.TV Sunday at 1pm and 7pm. Follow JTV Sports on twitter for updates throughout the game.
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.