The MCHS varsity football team had a tough year last season, finishing with a record of 4-5.

This year, they look to build on that and improve. Minooka brought in a new head coach, Terry McCombs, who has a great winning record and background. He looks to turn Minooka football around and lead them to great success. He replaces Paul Forsythe, head coach at Minooka for the last 5 years.

“We forget last year,” McCombs said. “Our guys haven’t mentioned last year once. We just look ahead to the upcoming season and forget all about last year.”

Every team in sports begins their season with a goal.

When asked about goals, McCombs answered: “That’s up to the players, if they can put in the time, the effort, and the work ethic, the sky’s the limit and they can achieve whatever their goal may be.”

Players have set goals to improve upon last year’s record.

“Our goal as a team is to win a conference championship. We also want to play a home playoff game. We want to go at least 7-2 ,but 9-0 would be better,” Derek Wentworth, senior offensive lineman, said.

McCombs has been on the sidelines coaching for 47 straight years and has a goal of going beyond 50. With plenty of experience, he was asked how Minooka is different than his other coaching jobs.

“The facilities are different. The facilities here are very below average, and I don’t think I’ve seen worse for all the years I’ve been coaching,” McCombs said.

Minooka plays its first game at Oswego on Aug. 25 at 6:30 p.m.  Last year, Minooka lost to Oswego 7-6.

Look for a feature story on Coach McCombs in the Sept. 18 print issue of the PPC.