Circle football continues historic turnaround into 2022 season

TOWANDA, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - After a 50-0 shutout over Labette County in week one and a first-ever win over the Buhler Crusaders last week, excitement is growing in Towanda. The Circle High School Thunderbirds are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010, and a win over Winfield this week will have them 3-0 for the first time since the ‘90s.

“Seeing how far everybody’s come and that I get to be a part of that is just a nice change of events to be the one who’s beating the team by 50,” said Circle running back Cannon McCormack.

The Thunderbirds posted an 8-81 record from 2011-2020 before last season’s 6-4 record. Circle head coach Logan Clothier said the flipped record over the last two seasons is due to the culture shift that has taken place recently.

“The kids have just believed in what we’ve been preaching to them and working hard in the weight room and summer practices. It’s just taking time,” Clothier said. “There’s a lot of kids that have helped lay the foundation when this team was freshmen and middle schoolers. They’ve just continued we talked about passing the torch. And so now it’s their time.”

Although many Kansas high school football fans aren’t accustomed to seeing the Thunderbirds heavy in the win column, these players say fans should get ready for more.

“Obviously for the community and for the outsiders, it’s a bit of a shock, but for us we’ve been putting in the work so it’s kind of what we expected at this point,” said Circle senior Ty Smith. “I’m all for the David and Goliath [storyline,] but I told the team I was kind of tired of the David and Goliath. I want it to be, ‘Hey, let’s win this game because we know we’re better.’”

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