The Cubs continued an amazing undefeated season, winning over the Gig Harbor Tides 14-7, last Saturday at SWHS. The cubs scored two touchdowns in the first half, holding off the tides after 3rd quarter touchdown, bringing them one step closer to the state tournament. The run-up to playoff season has been built on a winning mentality that has had the Cubs come out each game on top.

“The mindset is usually the same every week,” said coach Drew Aungst. “It’s not about the other team. It’s about us controlling what we can control, not worried about record rankings. None of that, just the game and what we can do to be better.”

Aungst, a former player for the Cubs, tells the players before a game “This week is about us.” He asks the players to ignore what the other team might have posted on social media.

Senior center Christian Canniff, number 74, says the team focuses on themselves week by week, showing that whatever team they face, it won’t come as a surprise to them.

A Junior, Tycen Bock, tackle, says the main focus is Cub football and Cub football only. Teammates keep each other accountable, staying connected, and making sure everyone is on the right track.

This is done by “Just practicing, keeping being bonded, and having a stable mindset towards keeping ourselves going,” said Bock.

“The best football teams are the ones that are selfless,” said Aungst. “They don’t care about stats, they don’t care about who’s getting the credit. They only care about the win columns. And luckily, that’s what we are. We got a bunch of selfless individuals, guys that like seeing everyone succeed, and they don’t care about who gets the credit, and that’s what makes us different.”

The cubs have made sure that distractions don’t affect them. After game seven, there were a couple of unsportsmanlike penalties on the cubs, which affected them during those drives.

“The biggest thing is always, not about the coaches, but really about the guys and the kids, and they create the leadership amongst each other,” Aungst said. “They’re the ones that have established who we are, and the things that are important to them, and so we’re just doing a good job of directing that.  They’re the ones who have created that and are captivating our culture.”

“Team chemistry is everything, and I think that’s the big difference between this year compared to last year. the guys just care a little bit more, they care for one another,” Aungst said.

This year, the team wanted to make a change and work on team chemistry and really get to know each other, on and off the field. Working on each other helps them have good relationships and be comfortable having each other’s backs on game days.

“I feel we’re a lot more together, and more bonded together, because we all have a brotherhood-kind of nature toward each other,” Bock said.