There was one phrase Emporia High coach Bill Lowe did not want to hear last Friday night: Good game, coach.
After the Spartans’ 21-14 loss to Blue Valley West, Lowe didn’t want to accept congratulations for any moral victories.
He wanted a win, good game or not.
Who can blame Lowe for not wanting to talk about how his team almost scored a big win?
In Lowe’s first season at the helm of the EHS football team in 2005, the Spartans went 1-8, with the lone victory a 32-22 road win over lowly Highland Park.
Emporia High has not tasted a home victory in more than two years, and Friday night against the Jaguars, the Spartans had a 14-7 lead in the fourth quarter before a costly fumble and a few mental errors allowed Blue Valley West to walk out of Welch Stadium sporting a 1-0 record.
The Spartans were so close, but they let a few bad plays here and there wear down their collective psyche, which often spells disaster for teams unaccustomed to winning.
So, yes, Lowe has every reason to not want to hear how well his Spartans fought Friday night.
However, maybe Lowe should listen a little more to the praise he and his team earned after last Friday’s defeat.
The object of the game is to win, yes, but considering that the Spartans looked quite good against Blue Valley West is reason to believe Emporia High is inching closer to the top of the mountain it has tried to scale the past two seasons.
The Spartan offense looked fairly efficient, and for the better part of the game, EHS controlled the tempo of the game with a steady dose of misdirection and sweep plays.
Quarterback Taylor Euler only passed four times, but completed three of those throws, two of which went for first downs. Running back Edd Noonan ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns and established himself as one of the top three athletes on the field that night with his combination of speed and strength.
The EHS defense also did its job against one of the better offenses the Spartans will see all year long. Yes, the Jaguars passed for 235 yards, but the Emporia High defense began the game a with a fourth-down stop and a three-and-out.
But eventually, the big, tall, fast, physical Blue Valley West receivers made enough plays to overcome a quality Spartan defensive performance.
Many fans were simply happy to see that Emporia High was competitive against a team that has several athletes expected to sign Division I letters of intent come February, and they should be happy.
But the Spartans should realize how close they were to winning, and build off of that.
Emporia High has an improved football team this season.
Obviously the biggest concern is cutting down on the mental mistakes that tend to hurt the most for teams that frequent the “L” column more often than not.
But the talent for winning is there. The Emporia High players now need to refine the mental side of the game, and it could start with squeezing every lesson learned out of the loss to Blue Valley West.
In no way should the Spartans be satisfied with the stinging loss to the Jaguars.
A loss is a loss, no matter how well a team plays.
In fact, it should be just the opposite.
The loss to the Jaguars should ignite a fire under this team. If the Spartans really are sick of losing — and believe me, they are — then come Friday night against Topeka High, it should show.
The wins will come.
The Spartans just have to learn to crawl before they can walk.