The words stand out clearly on Solanco School District’s website, just beneath the image of a snorting Golden Mule who looks like he’s running for tough yardage on fourth and one.
“Always Earned. Never Given,” it says.
For Bryce Cox (left, below), Evan Kurtz (right below), Kris Burgos-Wise (in top photo) and other seniors on this year’s Solanco football team, the saying couldn’t be more true to life.
They remember the team’s 10-0 record of three years ago, but they also remember the 5-5 mark of a season ago.
And they know that to have success close to 2022’s, they will have to earn it.
Says Burgos-Wise, a running back and linebacker, “I just want to have a successful year. Coming off of a 5-5 year and before that a 3-7 year, it definitely hurts -- but we’re going to use that (as motivation) towards our success.”
The team is led by running back Johnny Garcia, a senior who rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and was a first-team Section 3 all-star.
But the team also has 20-some seniors and a lot of experience across the board, Burgos-Wise says.
Many have played since their freshman and sophomore years, “and a lot of them will be starting, so using that and the bonds that were created, I think we’re going to have a successful year,” he says.
Kurtz, a defensive end, is hoping “to go as far as we can. Having everybody grow together as a family over the years has been a great thing.”
And as seniors, he and Cox agree, they can help lead the way.
LNP | LancasterOnline hosted Football Media Day at its downtown Lancaster office to connect local media with Lancaster-Lebanon League football players and coaches.
