EAST CHINA — As much as he’d like to wipe a winless season from memory, Riley Brohl knows doing so would be detrimental.
Because if 2025 taught the Cardinal Mooney High School football team anything, it’s that an 0-9 record stings like a blindside block.
“I try to forget about last year a lot,” said Brohl, a senior lineman for the Cardinals. “But I always keep it in the back of my head just to fuel me and keep going.”
Said junior lineman Matt Koles, “Last year is pretty much fueling our drive. Just remembering the pain and not wanting that to happen again.”
So far, in 2026, it’s Cardinal Mooney that’s administering the pain with back-to-back blowout victories to begin the season.
“These kids, no matter how hard (last) season was getting, they never backed down, and they never quit,” coach Dan Kilian said. “They hung in there and battled. I think the blessing of that is they realized what it takes to win. They got in the weight room, they worked hard and now they’re starting to see some of that (pay off).”
Friday, Sept. 4, saw the Cardinals hammer Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 35-0, at East China Stadium. It was the first shutout victory in nearly four years for Cardinal Mooney, which is 2-0 for the first time since 2021.
“We got a lot of guys that just want to win,” senior wideout Gabe Breight said. “Looking back at last year, we understand the work that has to be put in in the summer. So, I think this win and last week’s win were really just built in the summer with all the hard work.”
The Cardinals have outscored opponents 63-6 in the first two games. In 2025, they scored just 19 points all season.
“We were just young (last year) starting about five freshmen,” Kilian said. “Not only did we go 0-9, but we were fairly uncompetitive in most of the games. And to fight through that adversity, work really hard in the offseason and turn that around, it’s a testament to the kids. They really want to see this succeed.”
For a small school like Cardinal Mooney, which competes in Division 8, success can’t occur without flexibility. In addition to playing both ways, the Cardinals must be willing to switch positions whenever necessary.
“We’re all working as a unit and not just focusing on personal stats,” Brohl said. “Dylan Davenport was a running back last year, but he made the switch to (offensive) line and put on a lot of weight. We’re not trying to work on individual stats, but the team stats.”
Said Breight, “We’ve got guys coming in off the bench that are still making plays. (Cornerback) Justin Williamson was not a starter Week 1, and he started this whole game (against Oakland Christian). He had a ton of tackles, and I thought he had a great game … guys being ready to go (is why we’re 2-0). Whether it’s the starters, bench, freshmen — they’re all helping out.”
That’ll all have to continue with conference play approaching in the Catholic High School League. The Cardinals have one more non-conference game before Week’s 4 matchup against rival Allen Park Cabrini.
“I think we’re at about 40% of what we can be,” Kilian said. “Are we going to be content getting a couple wins? Or are we going to fight to get to what we could actually be by the end of the season? That’s what I want to see — these guys not get complacent, but to strive to be as good as they can possibly be.”
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: A winless season is ‘fueling’ Cardinal Mooney football’s fast start
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