AUGUST 21, 2004 – PIQUA, OHIO
Nevermind the fact that the Piqua Indians football team lost 19 seniors off of a 2003 team that finished with a very misleading 5-5 record. The Indians lost four of those games by a total of five points. The Indians aren’t looking to spend another year in the rebuilding process. They have high expectations and remain positive, even after the heartbreaking losses they experienced last season.

“We take things one game at a time,” said Piqua head coach Bill Nees. “Anytime you take the field you want to win. If you play ten games, you want to win all ten of them but you can only win one at a time.”

The 2004 Indians will be much younger than they have been in recent years past but when you lose 19 seniors, that type of thing is expected. The Tribe will look to a number of sophomores to raise their level of play and gain some valuable experience while helping the Indians produce a winning team and a possible return to the Division II playoffs. The Indians haven’t made the playoffs since the 2001 season after being a regular in the state playoffs from 1999-2001 and for the majority of the 1990s.

“We have a great group of sophomores that will help us out,” Nees said. “They have done a great job of making the transition from the freshman level to the varsity level. They have really matured as a group.”

The returning starters will be the key to helping those younger players experience what football is all about at the varsity level. “The sophomores will be vital to our success but we have experience that our seniors and juniors will provide them,” said senior Joe Hudson. “We’ll be young, but everyone is already growing up fast.”

Piqua will once again be battle tested throughout the entire season. The schedule opens up with Grove City and Columbus Bishop Watterson. The Indians take on Fairmont before heading into league play. The Greater Western Ohio Conference crossover game for the Indians this year will once again be the Wayne Warriors.

Although the Indians have a very tough road ahead of them in 2004, the team remains focused and ready for the challenge.

“We want to improve on a daily basis,” added Nees. “Only half the teams in the state of Ohio can be 1-0 after their first game, we want to be 1-0.”