Lindbergh head coach Nathan Norman begins his third year at the helm of the football Flyers and is optimistic about the 2018 season. Photo by Jessica Belle Kramer.

By Jessica Belle Kramer
For the Call

Lindbergh High School is setting its expectations high for its varsity football team this year after the team defeated the defending state champions last season, remaining undefeated until a showdown with Eureka.

“Our expectations are high,” head coach Nathan Norman said. “Our kids have worked extremely hard in the offseason. I can’t say enough about how hard the seniors have worked in the weight room.”

One senior the team is especially hopeful about is quarterback Wyatt Critchlow. Critchlow is replacing Parker Powell, who just graduated and will play Division I football at Missouri State University this season.

Lindbergh football fans first got a good look at Critchlow’s offensive-line skills during the district championships last season when the team played Eureka for the second time. Critchlow took over the offensive line for Powell after the starting quarterback was taken out of the game due to an injury.

“We’ve also got high expectations for Wyatt,” Norman said. “Wyatt is the type of guy that does everything the right way, does everything exactly how you ask him to do it. He’s a good leader by example, so we’re looking for good things from him.”

Norman and the rest of the coaching staff are asking the same things of this year’s team as they did with last year’s.

“We just want our kids to do the things that we ask them to do and be well coached, disciplined, work hard and play with great effort and intensity,” Norman said. “We feel like if our kids do that, we’ll put them in a position to be successful. And they’ll put themselves in a position to be successful.”

Though Norman is optimistic about his team and its players, he still plans to take the season one game at a time.

“But time will tell,” Norman said. “You can’t ever know the true identity of a team until you start playing games, and we’ll see how they prove themselves. What I tell the kids is we try to take it one week at a time, take care of the little things.”