Bruins hope momentum stays intact

After four straight wins, the Rock Bridge football team has all the momentum a team could want, but not the respect it feels it deserves.

In the past two weeks, the Bruins have earned victories against Jefferson City and Hickman. Coach A.J. Ofodile called the victories “the first two big wins of this group’s career.” However, one final test remains. One final opportunity for all that momentum to disappear.

The Bruins travel to Fort Zumwalt West (6-3) Friday night for the final game of the regular season. They have clinched the Class 6 District 6 championship and a birth into the state quarterfinals on Nov. 11 at DeSmet, making this week’s game far from a must win.

“We didn’t necessarily prepare well (Tuesday),” Ofodile said. “You hears guys on Monday still talking about the win on Friday, and we generally don’t do that.”

Afterward, the Bruins kneeled down in the middle of their muddy practice field and listened to Ofodile. He spoke of keeping momentum. He spoke of still having something to prove. He spoke of earning the respect of future opponents. But most of all, he tried to change how his team viewed the next game.

“Hopefully we can send a message that we are for real, that we weren’t a flash in the pan or a fluke that snuck into the playoffs,” Ofodile said. “I don’t think you send that message by losing this last game.”

Ofodile turned to a common source of motivation, noting an article in a St. Louis newspaper about the district tournament that failed to mention the Bruins. Yet the team that wasn’t mentioned advanced to the playoffs.

“Coach said it yesterday, we know on our football team that we’re good and we have something,” Stull said. “But nobody still respects us even though we beat the defending state champions and we won districts.”

The Bruins want to change the image of their program to one that is respected around the state.

“A lot of times, a high school game is so mental... the respect factor is a big thing,” Ofodile said. “A team that really thinks of you as a good team, sometimes a high school kid, you create a little bit of nerves, they give you some mistakes that you might not get, a turnover here or a penalty there. And you see that all time when a team plays against a really good opponent...a Rockhurst or a Blue Springs or a Hickman. They get breaks just from the other team maybe being nervous or intimidated.”

As the stage looms larger for the Bruins in the upcoming weeks, so will that opportunity to prove who they are. Friday night, they have their first shot.