Confident North Fond du Lac squad focused on more wins

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - 2,561 days, that’s how long North Fond du Lac waited between victories.

Still this year’s squad seemed confident the day would come where the longest losing streak in the state came to an end.

”I had a feeling eventually we were going to get it done. Especially with new coaches, new program, that kind of stuff,” said senior quarterback Zach Seidschlag.

Belief is a powerful thing for a program that not only lost 53 games, but at one point didn’t play at all. Taking off the entire 2017 campaign before returning for a three game season in 2018.

The current flock of Orioles were elementary and middle school students at that time, and focused on writing their own chapter in North Fond du Lac football history.

“Just preaching it every day and bringing the high energy every single day, and telling our kids, ‘you can do it.’ If we all come together and believe we can win,” said head coach Taylan Ybarra.

Last Thursday, North Fond du Lac broke through in thrilling fashion. A fourth quarter touchdown connection between Zach Seidschlag and Jackson Goldapske tied the game at 14. Then a fumble return for a touchdown put the Orioles in front.

Of course there was excitement after ending the streak, but the players also feeling a weight lifted of their shoulders.

“To get that win it was kind of a relief. Don’t got to stress as much anymore,” said Seidschlag.

“It felt like we were finally like everybody else. Like we’ve been hated on for this for a long time and it feels good to be appreciated and be able to compete at this type of level,” said senior wide receiver Jackson Goldapske.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes this year for the Orioles this year is a change in attitude. The first season under new head coach Taylan Ybarra.

“The future is bright here. We actually have a lot of good players on our team, believe it or not. I knew that coming in. We needed to learn how to win the little things,” said Ybarra.

“He has confidence in us. We have confidence in ourselves, and by doing that we just perform better. Because if he believes in us, we’ve got to believe in ourselves,” said Seidschlag.

Now this week they’re back at work looking to start a new streak, a winning streak. The process to get the next victory is the same as the first, it’s taking care of the small things on every down, every play, and every rep.

“You have to focus on every play. You can’t focus ont he past. Like we always say, next play. You can’t worry about what you did in a previous play. You always have to go out and be positive,” said Goldapske.

“Last week is over with. Yes, we won and everything is great but we’re not chasing that feeling that we felt on Thursday. We’re focused on winning this week,” said Ybarra.

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