HOLTON – Some people might ask how things could get much worse for the Holton football team.

The Holton coaches and players are asking each other how things can get better, and they’re working hard to make that happen.

The results thus far haven’t been pretty, which is not surprising for a team with 11 sophomores and five freshmen on a 26-player roster.

The Red Devils opened the season with a 52-6 loss at Orchard View, then followed with a 42-0 loss to Perry last Thursday.

Injuries have been an issue, particularly at the critical running back position, where sophomore starter David Addison suffered a concussion against Orchard View and missed the Perry game.

His replacement, freshman Anthony Boone, suffered a concussion against Perry and will be out this week.

Holton quarterback Rylee Pierce has been growing and improving in his new role. 

On top of all that, the Red Devils have yet to experience the comfort of a home game with a friendly Holton crowd.

Their first two games were on the road, and the next three will be as well, starting on Friday night when the Devils travel to Ravenna for their West Michigan Conference Rivers Division opener.

Despite those issues, the team is taking things day-by-day and week-by-week, keeping its goals modest and focusing on steady improvement.

“I end every practice with a quote, and today I shared a quote with the team from (the late NFL coaching great) Bill Walsh,” said Holton head coach Tommy Moore. “He said ‘To win the fight, you first must be in the fight.’ We haven’t been in the fight yet.”

The players are being patient while they learn and progress from week to week, according to Moore.

Holton senior Hunter Zeng, who had a long fumble return against Perry last week. 

“These kids are rallying around each other and making sure nobody is throwing in the towel,” he said. “For an 0-2 team, they are still hungry and working and giving us everything they have, so we can’t complain.”

After watching film of the Perry game, Moore said he found lots of positive examples of progress from various players.

He mentioned senior Hunter Zang, who returned a fumble more than 50 yards against Perry.

He commended junior quarterback Rylee Pierce, who is new to the position but is feeling more comfortable and played better in Week 2.

“He’s telling us that things are starting to slow down for him, which is what you want to hear from your quarterback,” Moore said.

Freshman running back Anthony Boone, seen running against Orchard View, suffered a concussion and will miss this week’s game.

Moore gave a shoutout to sophomore lineman Luke Urso for his strong play, as well as junior Landin Dunbar for his consistent effort on special teams.

He said senior lineman Tanner Steffens had a good game on defense, and had high praise for junior Seth Erickson, who is usually a linebacker but played his very first game at defensive nose tackle last Thursday.

“He put his hands down in the dirt and was an absolute disruptive force,” Moore said about Erickson. “Even the other team’s coach mentioned how well he did.”

Getting the offense untracked is a major key for the Red Devils, according to Moore. He said he sees progress in that regard, and believes the unit is getting close to moving the ball better and finding the end zone again.

“There were definitely some things that went a lot better on our end,” Moore said about the Perry game. “We’re just not firing on all 11 cylinders on offense yet, but once we get there we are going to score some points.

“We are starting to hit our blocks and getting to where we need to be. Now we have to learn to be the most violent person at the point of attack. If we can get there and be violent, things will really start to click.

Senior lineman Tanner Steffen, who played well on defense against Perry. 

“We’re still getting too many three-and-outs (on offense) and we’re still giving up far too many points. It will help when our defense is not always on the field with their backs to the wall.”

Moore, a former assistant coach at Ravenna, knows his squad will have a stiff challenge against the Bulldogs, a team that has reached the state playoffs each of the past four seasons, but has started 2023 with a pair of losses.

The coach knows Ravenna will be hungry to get in the win column and will throw everything it has at Holton.

The Red Devils will keep it simple and focus on doing better than they did against Perry, and that may not spell success on the scoreboard.

“Do we expect to go in and roll a good Ravenna team? Probably not,” he said. “But can we win a series? Can we win a quarter? The answer is yes. We are focused on getting into the fight.”