Improvement was the key for Lindbergh football during the 2024 season.
The Flyers finished the season 8-3, after falling to Jackson, 31-14, in the second round of the Class 6 District playoffs.
“The season was a success, we made huge improvements from Week 1,” Flyers head coach Nathan Norman said. “We met our main expectation which was to improve each week.”
Norman’s squad will take a break after the grind of the season, but won’t rest for too long.
“We will begin off-season weightlifting soon and continue with weights and agility work through the spring and the summer,” he said. “Per the norm, our athletes are in different phases of development and need to focus on different things. Although I have yet to meet a high school football player who couldn’t benefit from getting stronger and faster.”
The Flyers’ success this season would not have been possible without the strong group of seniors that Norman had leading his team.
“If I did not mention the entire senior class I would be doing them an injustice,” he said. “All of my seniors contributed to the success of the team in some way, whether it was making plays on Friday night, playing scout team so we could prepare for each opponent or mentoring the underclassmen.”
Connor Lanham was one of those seniors. The Flyers running back led the team with 15 touchdowns and 907 yards rushing.
Quarterback Sam Estrada also had a good senior campaign, rushing for 658 yards and six touchdowns and passing for 754 yards and seven touchdowns.
“Sam Estrada was one of the most improved players on the team,” Genge said. “His growth as a quarterback from last season to the end of this season was tremendous.”
Sophomore Malik Matthews led the team in receiving with 19 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively, sophomore Noah Norman and junior Brody Wharton were standouts for Lindbergh. Norman led the team with 83 tackles, while Wharton finished with 74.
After a strong eight-win season that featured wins over Oakville, Mehlville, Summit and Fox, the future’s looking bright for the Flyers, as nine defensive starters will return.
There will, however, still be plenty of challenges ahead.
“We graduate several key offensive line-men, who will be very hard to replace,” Norman said. “Our biggest challenges will be lack of depth and managing two-way players.”
Norman summed up the Flyers 2024 season in three words: fulfilling, improved and bright future.
He also wanted to make sure his seniors knew they were appreciated.
“I want to thank them for their commitment and dedication to the program,” he said. “They made it enjoyable to go to practice every day because of their attitude and effort.”
