Head Football Coach, Justin Haberman, and varsity players, seniors Connor Sams and Jonathan Rodriguez, reflect on their season, leadership, team culture and State game.
Transcript
Madie Petrick and Zac Sherman
Petrick: Hi Griffins, I’m your host, Madie Petrick, and welcome to the very first episode of the Eastside Exchange. Today I’m joined by my co-host, Zac Sherman, and we’re going to be talking about Monday’s State football championship game. But first, we want to give you a rundown of everything happening next week.
Sherman: One Act has a performance here this Sunday at 7 p.m.
Petrick: The Class B State Football Championship is on Monday at 7:15 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. One Act has their EMC competition on Tuesday, and the girls and boys basketball teams are kicking off the winter season with two jamborees on Tuesday as well.
Sherman: Thanksgiving break begins on Wednesday.
Sherman: We have some great guests here today. Head Coach Justin Haberman, offensive and defensive lineman Jon Rodriguez and running back Connor Sams are in the studio today.
Petrick: But before we get into the game, Assistant Principal Ryan Garder has some Wings of Wisdom for you.
Wings of Wisdom
Ryan Garder
Garder: Well, first off, thank you guys for putting this together. I think being able to promote all the awesome things happening at Gretna East High School, we’ve got a lot to be proud of, and this is a platform that should be able to allow to give access to our kids and give some extra shout-outs to our kids and some of the programs that have been so successful.
Obviously, congratulations to our football team in year three, making the state finals. I don’t know that that’s ever been done in high school football before; we would have to look at the history. So kudos to coach Haberman and the entire football team, not just the players that are on this year’s team, but also the students who are one graduating class of alumni who helped set a foundation for and set the culture for what Gretna East’s football was going to be about.
But also congratulations to all our activities this fall, I think about not necessarily even just this school year, but last school year. Our female activities brought home the NSSA cup in first place, and our male programs were highly successful as well. I think we finished in second place in those standings.
And so just as a whole, Gretna East and all the activities, we’ve been really fortunate to find some early success in our school’s history. And is a big time, in part to all our coaches who put in a lot of hours, but also our family involvement and our students who are eager to get excited and just be excellent at what they do. And I couldn’t be more proud to represent the students and the family of Gretna East.
Interview
Justin Haberman, Connor Sams and Jonathan Rodriguez
Petrick: All right, so my first question for you guys is, how does it feel you’re in the State Championship? That’s crazy.
Rodriguez: Yeah, I’d say, you know, you’ve been thinking about it so long, ever since I started playing high school football. That’s all we talked about, that it’s hard to really realize that we’re here and we’re so close to our goal. And it’s just very cool to be able to say that we’ve made the state championship, and now we have a chance to go and win it.
Sams: I mean, to build off John, it just feels amazing, especially with all the hard work that we put in since we’ve been playing football, since we were, I mean, in elementary school. So it just feels amazing for us to be here
Haberman: As a head coach, you know, I’ll tell you, it was one of those things that I knew was going to happen. When you have senior leadership like these two guys sitting next to me, there’s no doubt that we’d be here, and I’m just truly blessed to be here.
Petrick: And obviously, you guys have grown a lot over the season. So, looking back to week one, how did you start that growth?
Rodriguez: I think it was just a lot of buy in more so than in previous years, and just really selling out to be a selfless team and just do our jobs. Instead of fighting for stats or just trying to have fun, we were more focused on winning
Sams: Once again, to build off him. We just have each other’s backs, and I think that’s really powerful in this game, because it’s a team game. It’s not just an individual game. You need your brothers
Haberman: And this team does a great job of next guy up, through injury, through fatigue. These guys that they’re selfless all the time. They go after they do what they need to do. They do what’s in the betterment of the team. You know, if they need a break, they let us know they need a break, and we get other guys in. So it’s real powerful.
Sherman: And for you guys, this playoffs has been a long, a long ride, and how is your senior leadership role kind of increased during those playoffs, going up against tougher and tougher opponents throughout the round.
Rodriguez: It’s required more emphasis from the seniors on doing things in practice right, and keeping the intensity levels high, and not being satisfied with having a big lead, and needing to keep fighting and building on that so we can finish out these games against good opponents.
Sherman: So you guys have never played the 13th game, and you have three extra days to prepare. What will you be doing during those three extra days to make sure you’re fresh?
Haberman: To be honest with you, there’s gonna be some rest and recovery involved. Yesterday, we gave the kids the day off the very first day Monday. Gave them a day off after the game, a day off later in the week, just so they have their let their bodies heal up, get ready to go. They’re going to go out and execute and practice they always do. The senior class will hold everybody to a higher standard and practice, but little rest and recovery is real important, and then we’ll make sure they’re dialed in for the game on Monday and prepare the boys to go out there and win a state title.
Sherman: So, Connor, what has made this such a breakout season for you?
Sams: It’s not necessarily what I’ve done, it’s what one of these guys sitting right next to me has done. My linemen are amazing. I mean, from left tackle to right tackle, there’s not one spot that is bad. I’m truly blessed to have this type of O-line.
Petrick: You guys are obviously a very cohesive team, but as captains, how have you tried to translate that to your younger players and bestow your leadership on them?
Sams: Obviously, we had the freshmen come up, and, I mean, we had about like 10, right? 10 come up. And I’ve been trying throughout their entire time they’ve been up on varsity, I’ve been trying to make sure that they learn the cultural roadmap, and I’ve been being more strict on them than I have been on other kids, so I can it will build on them more, and then they can take it on when they grow and I leave.
Petrick: Tell me more about this cultural roadmap for somebody who didn’t know anything about it.
Haberman: It’s how we set our culture. We talk about pride, brotherhood, execution, character, and we have little core values that we make sure that the kids meet. We talk about P to P, which is person to person. We talk about, bam, be a man. We have tag phrases for all of them, and it’s just something we ask the kids to live by, and us coaches live by, and it’s just doing things the right way. And our vision for this team is to build champions on and off the field. It’s great that we’re great football players, but it’s more important to me that they’re great young men. And a lot of these guys come all these guys come from amazing families, and it’s just nice to be able to help reinforce all those things to make sure these young men are doing the right things all the time.
Sherman: And you guys have had a very balanced defense throughout the year. Everything right. What do you feel like your main strength is going into Waverly?
Haberman: You know, the best part about our defense is it’s the next guy up. You know, early June, we go up to South Dakota State, Drew Dowd breaks his arm into two pieces. He was projected starter for us. MJ Marriott stepped right into that role. Did a tremendous job. Then he broke his collarbone, just as Drew was getting healthy, and they just switched spots. And so it’s always the next guy up. No one, no one’s afraid. You’ll see. I do a lot of rotation throughout the game, bringing different defensive backs and different linebackers, the D line rotates. It’s all about what’s better for the team and how hard they’re going to work and and you know, I, Jon Rodriguez, here with me, and I talked to him all the time, ‘Jon, do you need one?’ ‘Nope, I’m good for one more series coach, then I’ll need one.’ It’s just great communication and the guys working together.
Petrick: I want to shift the focus onto the State game. I think we’re all really excited for it, but I’m curious for the coach and for the players. How are you guys keeping focused this week?
Rodriguez: For me, it’s really just about taking this game as just another playoff game. Same approach and practice, focus, intensity, knowing my job, how I want to play this, getting in film, because at the end of the day, it is just another playoff game. Of course, it’s in Memorial, and it’s the state championship. But I can’t change my approach, because it’s been so successful, and I just need to take it one step at a time and do the things the way we’ve been doing, and we’ll execute.
Sams: I agree with John, but to me, I feel I’m just playing the same game that I’ve been playing since I’ve been in third grade. I mean, it’s just another football game, except for with the number one title next to it. And I feel that we have to keep the same routine because, I mean, I’m superstitious. Coaches are too. We like to keep on what we’re doing, because if we’re winning with what we’re doing, don’t fix what’s not broken. So we’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and just working hard every practice.
Haberman: To me, it’s another opportunity to work with this amazing group of young men. It’s special. To get here. One thing we all do when we get to Lincoln is, I’m gonna tell the boys to soak it all in. Bring your phones out. These guys know I’m not a big phone guy around the football. Bring their phones out. We’ll take pictures on Memorial Stadium, and we’ll get some group pictures and do some cool things. But at the end of the day, like I told the boys, all the way through the playoffs, just another game. Football is football. There’s it’s an exciting point to be at in life. We worked really hard to get here, but I want them to enjoy it all and soak it up and but like Connor and John both said, it’s a football game. We’re gonna go out and play football.
Sherman: And Coach, you’ve coached in Memorial Stadium for Omaha Westside as an assistant, and what takeaways have you gotten from playing in Memorial Stadium that could help your players?
Haberman: You know, that’s a great question. I’ll tell you, Memorial Stadium is big, really big, obviously, as we know. The crazy part is when we played versus Gretna and against Skutt, the stadium here was so loud that I couldn’t yell onto the field because they couldn’t hear me. In Memorial Stadium, they’re gonna be able to hear me just fine, because the stadium is so big. So there’s little things that are actually a benefit to us, being in that big stadium, the crowds a little farther back, but it’s, it’s just the excitement of being there and then having them calm down.
The first team that calms down is going to be doing better. I just read something yesterday. The media guide was sent to me, and they said, This is the first time that Waverly has ever been there too. So even though we’re a young program, it’s their first time too. So it’s going to be whoever settles down and does what they need to do early. And as you can tell by the senior leadership sitting next to me, you know, they’re dialed in. They just know it’s another football game, and we’re gonna go out and execute.
Sherman: And you know, Waverly is 12 and 0. You guys have had a lot of common opponents: Bennington, Seward, Elkhorn, Standing Bear and Plattsmouth. So what is the game plan, or what are you trying to do against them really well?
Haberman: They’re a very talented team. They’re big up front, just like we are. They have a talented running back, just like we do. Their quarterback’s a great player. They have some skill at wide receiver. Their defense is very similar to ours. It’s gonna be a very even matchup, but it’s going to come down to who settles in and executes. And as you can tell, our boys aren’t nervous. They’re ready to execute and and that’s going to be the difference. It’s we’re going to go down there and and going to be a lot of fun. And I hope we pack the house. I’ll never forget, you asked me earlier about when I played. Well, one of the last games I coached there was versus Gretna, and I walked out onto the field, and it was just the whole stadium was full of Gretna people. I hope we pack it again. You know, the whole community come out and support, support the Griffins.
Petrick: Do you have a final message for your team, for the fans, any of you?
Sams: I just want to say thank you to everyone that has showed to all the games and supported us throughout our entire season. It means a lot to us.
Rodriguez: Yeah, you know, but we do have one more game left, and every person there is going to help us, just every slight advantage is one we need to take in such a big game. So show out, be loud and come support us.
Haberman: My message is a big thank you. Thank you to the fans, to the crowd, to you guys. The media coverage has been amazing. Halftime conversations have been great. So I truly appreciate you guys doing this. I thank the fans so much. I thank the administration of Gretna public schools for allowing me to coach this program and have this opportunity, but ours is a big thank you. We’ll go out, we’ll do everything we possibly can to bring that state title home.
Petrick: Thank you for tuning into the Eastside Exchange. Next week, we’ll sit down with some of the cast and crew of this year’s One Act. This has been Madie Petrick.
Sherman: And Zac Sherman, signing off.
Petrick: See you next week, Griffins.
