For the first time in Horace High School history a varsity football team, led by Head Coach Harvey McMahon, played a game under the bright Friday night lights. The varsity team has now played two games, one against Fargo North and one against Dickinson.

This season is all about “the firsts.” Coach McMahon states, “There are a lot of firsts we’ve gone through, and in these games the team had their first touchdown, first defensive stop, first first-down, and first interception… We have made really good strides doing that and if we keep doing that we will be ok.” Getting all of these firsts are important because it is building a foundation down the road for the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders.

A team gets its direction from their coach. Coach McMahon was a four-sport athlete in high school playing football, basketball, track, and wrestling. Coach played college football at Valley City State University. Before moving to Horace, he was the defensive linemen coach at South High for three years. It is now his third-year coaching for the Horace Hawks and his first year coaching varsity football at Horace. A big reason why McMahon is coaching is because he had such a positive experience with his coach. McMahon stated, “Having a good coach in life was huge for me.” And that’s why he wants to pay it forward to the players today. Coach McMahon noted that there is great appeal to build the program from the ground up. Coach feels he has a “good crack at building the culture the right way” and that it will carry us down the many years ahead.

The Hawks’ future is soaring. This year Horace has a Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman team. The teams practice all together, so the freshmen put in work and drills with the varsity. By doing this it helps the freshmen learn the offense and defense better, challenging them so they are prepared to go up against better opponents. It seems to be working because the freshmen team are 2-0. This is the “ground work” Coach McMahon is creating for the future.

The Varsity team has only played two games. There will be many more “firsts” as the season progresses. first pick six, first homecoming, and the first win. Coach McMahon has built a solid foundation for the Hawks’ football program that emphasizes culture, respect, and hard work. The coaches, players, and community are excited to see how the program continues to grow in many positive ways.