2021 Elizabethton High School Fighting Cyclones
Gunning for their third straight... Cyclones have a huge bullseye on back heading into 2021
BY IVAN SANDERS STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
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biggest game and now it’s the third week of the season. As coaches and as players, we are not going to lower that standard,” Witten stated. “We have got to get the guys to compete to raise the bar and challenge themselves. You can be two ways as a program - you can be a program where no one wants to play you or a program where everybody wants to play you. “Our first six games are as tough as they have ever been. I think that it’s exciting and motivates you every
he Elizabethton Cyclones will soon find out how an elusive, exotic animal feels when they kick off their 2021 campaign as the back-to-back defending Class 4A State Champions as every team they play will be stalking them with like a hunter wanting to be able to plant their foot on their Star Photo/Ivan Sanders backs and shout to the highest Elizabethton Cyclone Head mountain - we took down the Coach Shawn Witten champs. This is something that hasn’t day.” been lost on Cyclones head coach Shawn Witten. And while the identity of “There are great challenges,” Witten shared. “We the 2021 Cyclones hasn’t yet been have set the bar really high and there are tons of expectations. We have got to perform at a high level. established, the success of this team Over the last 24 months, people in this area are tired has been replicating a formula that Witten and his coaching staff implemented of hearing about Elizabethton. and has followed on their way to winning 30 “Our road gets extremely tough. Guys before straight games and two state titles. them have set the bar high and we graduated 25“Time will tell what our identity will be,” plus players that have been in those big football Witten noted. “The system has proven that games that have paved the way to get us over the there is a winning formula. We have to get hump and there are great challenges.” All one has to do is to look at the brutal schedule guys to play within the winning formula. “The core value of your football team is the Cyclones have for the season to realize that the your sophomores and juniors -they have to competition is salivating to take their shot at the be the unsung heroes. They are role players Cyclones. and have to take on that role and maximize “Used to, the third week of October was our 6
Bryson Rollins Quarterback
