WILLIAMSBURG, VA (WTKR)- James Riley came to Jamestown as head football coach prior to the 2024 season, hoping to change the Eagles' culture.
Even though they have yet to consistently soar in the win column, his mission is still working. The players themselves will be the first to tell you that.
"It's this group effort towards a single goal of just improvement," said Jamestown senior middle linebacker Brayden Strouse. "That's definitely something we haven't had here before and the team has been close and connected, so it's been amazing."
"He's done a great job of installing new plays, of getting to know us, doing lots of team bonding and obviously just making us smarter football players on the field," senior quarterback Ben Hanchett added.
The Eagles went through their fair share of lumps during Riley's first campaign. They finished 0-10. Some games were close, others were not, but the head coach observed his players learning those lessons that lead to improvement, one yard at a time.
"We would score, we would get excited, but we had to learn to weather the ups and downs of a football game," the head coach pointed out. "That's what we've been focused on this offseason."
"Stay positive and trust in the coaching staff," Strouse noted of what the team learned through the struggles. "It was the first year, new offense, new defense. Things needed to click, we needed to change it and stress test it."
Despite the winless campaign and the struggles of the last several years, many players have seen it through. They've been lacing up the pads, in spite of the losses, and working to keep that winning mindset, which isn't always easy.
"Especially when all your friends in school and people are ragging on you each week and wondering why you're still playing football," said Hanchett. "A lot of your friends quit throughout my four years, so it's definitely been hard, but it starts with a love of the game."
"They can go play another sport and win a state championship," added Riley. "For these young men to stick to football when it's not fun, it really shows how much they love the game."
This past weekend, the Eagles flew high. In a game that kicked off Thursday but did not conclude until Saturday due to weather, Jamestown snapped a 21-game losing streak with a 21-6 triumph over Gloucester at Wanner Stadium. It was the program's first feeling of victory in more than 740 days.
"In the back of your mind, you're waiting for the other shoe to drop," Riley smiled. "You're really just 'ahh just pull this out.' You look in the third quarter, I'm just like 'run the ball. Let's get out of here!'"
"It was like our own little mini-Super Bowl," Hanchett said. "It was kind of like a period to the sentence of the offseason. I just can't even describe it."
The new goal is to repeat that feeling. Jamestown hasn't won back-to-back games since the 2016 season, so the Eagles are full speed ahead looking to start a streak of a different nature when they take on Warhill Friday night.
"They're not going to lay down for us just because we got one win," Hanchett noted. "We've got to keep putting the work in."
"Being a senior and just riding through the rough parts of the program, being able to be successful and come out on top would just mean the world."
"My [athletic director] jokes, 'win four and they'll build a statue of you,'" Riley chuckled. "We laugh about it and we talk about where it's going to go, but I think it would be really cool for this community to have a winning streak and so we're going to bust our butts to make it happen."
Jamestown and Warhill kick off at 7 p.m. Friday night.
