Famous American author, Mark Twain, once said: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”. But no matter how big or small, there are not many things in the animal kingdom that will take on a Rattlesnake. The Magazine School District is one of the smallest schools in the entire state and their football team doesn’t exactly have a roster loaded with players. Yet year in and year out, the Rattlers football team always ends up making the bigger schools look like fools on the field.
With a combined 10-1 conference record, a conference championship, and state playoff appearances in each of their high school football seasons, the 2021 seniors on Magazines team will walk into this season knowing nothing but success. They say confidence breeds success and success breeds confidence. If that’s the case, Magazine is more than confident they’ll be successful in 2021. “Right now the program as a whole is in a good spot. We have quality players returning in senior high with a good junior high group coming up” said head coach, Ryan Chambers. Going into his second year as the snake head of the program, Chambers has confidence that this team is every bit as good as any in the state.
Magazine graduated some serious weapons from the 2020 season which probably caused a sigh of relief for their 2021 opponents. That sigh will be short-lived though as the Rattlers will return six starters on both offense and defense. One of those returners is Ashton “The Drone” Droemer who will be the Rattler’s most experienced and lethal player in Magazines offense backfield. Droemer is no stranger to the grind and has the capability to be placed on the list of Magazine greats. Also returning to the Rattler’s infamous power offense is three-year starter, Terrence Thurman. Thurman will be the master lock in the offensive line chain this season. Returning multiple starters is great, but Magazine has always been a program that pulls talent from the shadows. Coach Chambers also has a pair of lethal fangs in Issac Klein and Cameron Mattson. “Klein will be a threat on the outside while Mattson will have some significant carries from the backfield. They don’t have a ton of experience, but they do have the tenacity and desire to win that we’re looking for,” said Chambers.
The Rattlers very well may have the best set of skill players in the entire 2A, but their arch-nemesis is still low numbers. Magazine will again suit up one of the smallest rosters in their conference and state. That being the case, they’ve proven each and every year that even the smallest snake pit can be extremely deadly. Against all odds, the Rattlers have been able to create magic each year through pure effort and players who take pride in suiting up in Red and Black. Then you add in Coach Chambers along with his assistant coaches Dakota Suttles and Chance Shelby, who create a great team environment and structure for the team, and you can see why success seems to be imminent for Magazine. All of that is great, but possibly the best returning starters for the 2021 season though will be the packed stands in the Snake Pit itself. Magazine has one of the best fan bases in the state to feed their Rattlers all of the energy they can handle. With talented athletes, a venomous fan base, and an unmatched effort, low numbers will always wind up being mere markings on a piece of paper.
