Maryville can thank football programs for needed normalcy Dalton Vitt Asst. Sports Editor | Posted: Wednesday, December 4, 2013 6:57 pm After a tumultuous and, frankly, surreal past few months in Maryville, football is taking on an even more important role than usual. For over a decade now, America’s favorite game—and it’s just that, a game—provided jubilant glee to an otherwise, well, boring Midwest municipality. But in the aftermath of unfortunate circumstances, football is bringing a little normalcy back to our quaint college town. Since the final few days of August, we’ve had a professor resign from Northwest because of a Facebook post that went beyond inappropriate, a rape case return to the forefront and an on-campus suicide. For as much as we—every resident in Maryville, not just college students—have fallen in love with the place we call home, and deservedly so, we’ve seen too many CNN trucks for all the wrong reasons. The things that have taken place here over the course of the last four months aren’t to be taken lightly, and in no way can an athletic team wipe our minds clean of the disastrous events—nor should it. But sometimes we just need a little positivity, one ray of hope, to get us through the times we wish would never have happened. The Spoofhounds just won their second consecutive state title Saturday and 30th straight game in the process. If there was anyone facing adversity at no fault of their own, it was the boys with a symbolic letter ‘M’ on the side of their helmets. “We adopted something back toward the middle of the season–Maryville Pride,” head coach Matt Webb said following the state championship win. “There was a lot of things that came out of Maryville, Mo. that sometimes our community was not shown in the best light … For me personally, being from the community and being blessed and honored to be able to be the head football coach and help continue a proud tradition, I can’t say enough about it.” Webb didn’t specify what his comments were about, but you can only imagine–being No. 1 in the state carries enough weight to knock teams from their perch, let alone unwarranted legal attention. Some people, many not involved with Maryville at all, named the football team as a scapegoat in the alleged rape of a former Maryville student via social media and the web, though none of this year’s players were a part of the alleged events at all. In fact, this season’s seniors were sophomores at the time. A lot of other members of this year’s team were in middle school. Just a few days after the case made national news, the Spoofhounds defeated rival Savannah 28-9, finally giving those in the stands a reason to smile again. Parents and townspeople alike now not only have cause to smile, but justification to rejoice in their hometown team’s undeniable successes following a thrashing of Seneca at the Edward Jones Dome. As for the Bearcats, they’re doing their best on an even greater stage. A noon kickoff this Saturday brings NCAA Quarterfinal action to Maryville for the first time since 2010 against Central Missouri. While the rape case lays in wait for its new prosecutor to decipher the next action, every game Northwest wins provides another week of distraction from what was once unthinkable. The Bearcats are three wins away from bringing home a trophy they haven’t held since 2009–and to be honest, we’re spoiled rotten to expect another national title that quick. But a championship would bring much more to Maryville than bragging rights and something to add to the welcome sign on Highway 71 just south of town. A second football championship for our town wouldn’t quite transform us back into a utopia of 11,000 people, but that sense of reality–the ability to feel–might just return with the Division II crown we all yearn. I think I speak for a majority when I say thank you to Matt Webb, Adam Dorrel and all of the assistant coaches and players for giving us cause to celebrate again.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Dec 2013 06:08:02 +0000
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