Hurdles haven’t deterred Western

The challenges facing Western High School’s football program these days seem bigger than any opposing linemen.

Box scores from Western’s lopsided losses won’t show that the Warriors have no junior varsity or freshman teams to support their program.

No scouting report will describe how some Western students can’t play and some players miss practice because families depend on income from their after-school jobs.

That’s reality of prep football in the inner city, but the Warriors aren’t sulking.

“I love the game, everything about it,” Western senior quarterback Larry Jennings said. “I’ve always loved football and always will. It’s my thing.”

Not long ago, Western was among the area’s best programs. The Warriors won a state title in 1996 and made six straight playoff appearances from 2002 to 2007.

The program has churned out some big names over the years, including former Los Angeles Raiders running back Frank Hawkins, current Green Bay Packers practice squad defensive lineman Lawrence Guy and former UNLV receiver Phillip Payne.

But Western hasn’t reached the postseason since 2007, and its last on-field victory was in 2010.

The Warriors are 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the Division I-A Sunset League heading into Friday’s home game against Clark. The only win came by retroactive forfeit against Shadow Ridge, which used an ineligible player in a 58-6 rout.

As of Tuesday, Western had 34 players in its entire program, including six freshmen and 12 sophomores.

“When you start having low numbers like we have, if one kid gets injured, there’s nobody to fill his place,” Western athletic director Chip Nelson said. “You’ve got to start pulling somebody who’s not familiar with that position.”

Last season, the Warriors forfeited their final three games to finish 0-9 after disciplinary action from an on-campus hazing incident left the team with too few players to continue.

Western has moved on from last year, and first-year coach Donnie Davis sees signs the Warriors are close to turning the corner. Western scored its most points in a game since 2007 during a 72-47 loss at Cheyenne two weeks ago.

Nelson said two factors that have the Warriors optimistic about their future are realignment and academics.

Western became part of the new I-A Sunset this year, likely giving the team a better shot to compete than when it was part of the old Class 4A. More importantly, the school is showing academic progress as a “turnaround” campus in the Clark County School District.

“We’re starting to see a change where kids are really trying to do better with their grades,” Nelson said, adding that many athletes are taking honors courses. “I hope we keep trying to push it as coaches that grades are really important. Hopefully now we can start to see that set in a little more, and these (athletes) will get out there in big numbers.”

Davis said a united front has helped the Warriors deal with hurdles that other teams might not face.

“Most of our kids, they have problems at home,” Davis said. “They have to baby-sit little brothers, sisters; they’ll miss practices; they have to work and bring money home. We are a family where we understand those situations, and we work around it.

“One of my players will come up to me and say, 'Hey Coach, things are tight at home. I may have to go home and do this or that,’ ” Davis said. “We’ll say, 'Go ahead and handle that.’ We’re so tightly knit as a family that we can overcome pretty much anything.”

Davis is proud of the way players have embraced his message.

“I told them the first day I came in, 'I want you to take on my personality, and one of those things is, we never quit, ever,’ ” Davis said.

Davis has two seniors carrying that torch in Jennings and offensive tackle/defensive end Derrick Rinfrow.

“I’m very proud of my teammates. We practice hard every day,” said Rinfrow, known simply as “Big D” by teammates. “I’m glad to be part of Western.”

Jennings passed for 375 yards and five touchdowns in the loss to Cheyenne. Rinfrow had two sacks, including a safety, in a 59-15 loss at Mojave last week.

“Last year and the beginning of this year, we weren’t really doing too well, and everybody criticized us and put us down,” Jennings said. “But now people are starting to see how hard we play, how much work we put in, and they’re starting to get behind us.”

A poem titled “Don’t Quit” is posted inside Western’s athletics office. It’s an objective the football team is fulfilling.

After being interviewed, Jennings quickly made his way back to the Warriors’ film room.

He looked eager to get back to work.