LORAIN — Todd Auvil is by nature a positive individual.
“I didn’t either,” Auvil answered when someone told him they didn’t think the Saints would fail to win a game last year. The Southview football coach knows all about the losing streak the Saints have going entering the 2008 football season.
“No doubt about it,” he said. “Just like when Ron Zook took over at Illinois. The attitude was bad. The losing attitude was contagious.
“But the kids are working hard.”
Southview hasn’t won a football game since the next-to-last game in 2004. The streak stands at 31 games.
“We played the second-toughest schedule in the county last year,” Auvil said, “and yet there were five games that we were in with a chance. Even the Admiral King game was just 6-0 at halftime.”
The Admirals came away with a 41-0 rout to close out last year. King scored quickly after intermission and when the Saints fumbled away the kickoff, the game was over.
“The shoe dropped and they were off and running,” Auvil said. “Our seniors last year were just waiting for things to fall. “But we don’t talk about it (the streak) with the kids. They’ve taken ownership of it. That’s a big difference this year.”
“We don’t look at it like we’re 0-31,” said senior Jake Moran. “We have the right tools. We’re running smoother this year. We have the chemistry. We’re feeling like we’re 10-0.”
“He’s our second strongest kid,” Auvil said of Moran, a 5-foot-10, 235-pound guard and inside linebacker. “He’s a throw-back to old school. He benches 350 (pounds), he preaches team, he has a 3.7 GPA.”
“We’re stronger physically and mentally,” said Moran. “The seniors are stepping up. Offensively and defensively, we’re playing better. Last year we’d be down 6-0 at halftime and we’d come out flat. I think this year we’ll know what we have to do.”
Auvil feels he has the leadership to overcome the odds. Senior Nick Gerace may be only 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds “dripping wet” as Auvil would tell you.
“But he plays with a lot of heart,” said Auvil. “He’s a great cover guy (on defense).”
Anthony Browning, a 5-11, 220-pound fullback, is another Auvil has a good feeling about.
“He’s a good, hard-nosed kid,” he said. “Quick feet, good runner.”
Junior Ricky Earl will be under center and is one of the quickest quarterbacks in the league. He runs a 10.9 100.
“He was at tailback (last year) but he’s really developed into a good quarterback,” Auvil said. We’ll be able to run multiple formations and multiple motions.”
Southview has 68 kids out for football including 16 seniors. That isn’t bad for a school that hasn’t won a game since any of them started high school.
The Saints open at Sandusky and host Elyria Catholic in Week 2. The schedule is virtually the same as a year ago with the exception of Week 9, when Southview travels to Warren JFK. It’s a tough task again.
“There are two groups of people,” said Auvil. “The 10-0 teams work twice as hard as the 5-5 teams. We need to work three times as hard.”

Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7136 or ctsports@chroniclet.com

SOUTHVIEW SAINTS
Conference: Lake Erie League – Erie Division
2007 Record: 0-10, 0-4
Coach: Todd Auvil, 2nd (0-10)
Returning Lettermen: 11
Returning Starters: 11 (5 offense, 6 defense)

By the Numbers:
31 Losses in a row since beating Bedford in October, 2004.
3 Straight losses to cross-town rival Admiral King.
5 shutouts suffered over the final six games last season.
Fast Fact: Southview won six games in 2002 and five in 2003 and were 22-26 from 2000 through 2004 before its current losing streak started.

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