Staff Photo / Dan Heiner Youngstown East football coach Devlin Culliver, right, addresses the team after practice Wednesday at East High School in Youngstown.
YOUNGTOWN — The East football team is entering a critical period of its season.
The Golden Bears are off to a 4-2 start to the season, their best record in years. But they have yet to score any eye-catching wins.
But East could take some shots at finishing the year.
They play Howland today, then open games against Struthers, Cardinal Mooney and Cheney to close out the regular season.
“I’ve been coaching for a long time, so I know we need a signature win.” East head coach Devlin Culliver said. “You’ve got to win some games that people don’t expect you to win. That’s when your program really takes a turn, because now the kids have the confidence and We can say we can beat anyone.”
The Golden Bears have struggled to maintain success over the past five years. The four wins this fall match their 4-6 record in 2019. And potentially even better than that, marking his best season since 2018.
In 2018, the Golden Bears finished 7-4, losing to eventual state runner-up Girard in the first round of the playoffs. But it was also important for another reason.
This year was the last year that players from within the Youngstown area competed in the East. The following season, Cheney rebuilt the athletic department and City’s football talent was separated.
Caliber had plans to attack the 2024 season. He wanted his players to not only grow on and off the field, but also in the locker room.
He wanted to see East’s culture improve while turning things around between the lines. And so far, the second-year Golden Bear coach likes what he’s seen.
“I’m proud of how they responded to what we asked them to do for the first five weeks.” Caliber said. “They come here every day, work hard, learn the game of football and try to apply it on Friday night.”
While the Golden Bears have improved off the field, Culliver said the big men in the trenches have taken a step forward on the field.
Culliver credits the success up front to the growth of his offensive and defensive linemen. And improved offensive line play has led to increased production from receivers.
“Great people, it’s attitude.” Caliber said. “They’re playing as a family. They’re playing hard and getting better every week.”
The Golden Bears took steps to turn things around, but they had to do it on a unique schedule. Their opponents combined for a record of 13 wins and 21 losses, but that loss was spent on Youngstown City Schools busing.
Steele Valley Conference rival Ursuline is the only Mahoning Valley team they have played before tonight. Their other games included home games against Chagrin Falls and Cleveland John F. Kennedy, as well as trips to (Columbus) Whetstone, (Cleveland) Shaw, and (Cincinnati) Don Community. .
Including the game against Ursuline at Stambaugh Stadium, the Golden Bears have traveled more than 1,000 miles round trip so far this season (1,040 miles to be exact).
And despite the road trip, the Golden Bears are in position to potentially make the playoffs in Division III, Region 9. According to joeeitel.com, they are ranked 13th in the regional rankings.
Travel will not be relevant in the last month of this year. It’s time for the Golden Bears to take the next step.
“They understand that their success so far has been a result of following instructions, showing up every day, working hard, listening to their coaches and just doing the little things that they didn’t think were big things before. “Trading,” Caliber said. “They didn’t pay attention to the little things that could hurt us in the game, and now they’re paying attention to the little things.
They’re humble and they don’t care about winning four games like we won the Super Bowl. They understand that that’s the process we’re going to take. And we’re taking it one step at a time, week by week. ”
