Okay, I’ll fess up to my initial pessimism. I had serious doubts Tim Paske would turn the Greene football program around after his team won just five games over his first two seasons.
He inherited a team from Lynne Simmons that had won four games and had a fair number of returning players. The Trojans won three games that first season, but were humbled more than one time and shutout twice. Season two produced better offensive numbers, but the wins slipped to a mere two.
“When you look at successful programs, there is a period of adjustment because you’re installing new offensive and defensive systems,” Paske said. “Players have to get used to your leadership style and coaching style. Lynne Simmons had a strong tenure here, but we were bringing in new terminology and new philosophies on both sides of the ball. Even after the second year, we were still going through the growing pains.”
Those growing pains, however, were part of a process in which Paske’s vision began to take hold in 2005. The Trojans had five defensive shutouts on their way to a 6-3 record. They took it a step further this past campaign winning seven regular-season games to grab the program’s first playoff berth in six seasons, and the highest state ranking (number 14) in team history. Over the past 18 games, Greene’s defense has six total shutouts and four other games where it allowed just a single touchdown. Meanwhile, an offense that use to sputter more than it flourished, has put up extremely respectable numbers.
“Last year we finished among the top seven in all of Section IV in scoring offense and scoring defense,” Paske said, “and we did that again this season.”
Paske stayed the course and saw his team make great strides toward the end of his second season. His quarterback, Kurt Spear, threw for over 1,000 yards in a season, and his team was far more competitive than the two-win total would suggest.
The strides his team made at the end of 2004 have carried through the past two seasons, and with the junior varsity teams posting winning records each of the last four seasons, the program’s ascendancy should continue. “The kids were still believing even after the second season,” Paske said. “We knew we were going to get there, and we just started to execute better. Last year’s group laid the foundation to be successful, and this year’s group placed another layer on that foundation.”
And for Paske, his season may be over, but he isn’t sitting by idly until spring or summer next year before he regains his focus on the program. He is already looking ahead to 2007. “The other night I took down three pages of notes for next year’s team,” he said. “It’s so exciting with the kids we have coming back and with the new kids that will be mixing in. We definitely could have another solid group coming through.”

email: pnewell@evesun.com