State College has long been known as a powerhouse in high school football. This is largely due to the growth and preparation that comes from the ninth grade football team. Head Coach Robert Furmanek has had a blasting role on players throughout his coaching career. In the past four years under Furmanek, the Little Lions have outscored opponents by 701 points and have a 29-4 record.
Furmanek’s impact will stay with the players throughout high school. He expects the team to win through effort, not skill, and these values and expectations are a large part of his coaching philosophy.
Starting linebacker and tight end Gavin Mutnan has been an all-around player for the Little Lions, getting snaps at quarterback, running back, tight end, slot, wideout and linebacker. Mutnan has been a standout player.
“Coach [Furmanek] is a very involved coach. He really has a love for the game, which I think it’s kind of hard to find. And he really cares about the effort that each player shows and one expectation he holds is like trying to beat the other team in a different aspect, including in conditioning. So I think a lot of the coaches don’t really focus on that. They really focus on just beating them with skill. But I think that coach Furm really focuses on effort and your effort being who wins the game,” Mutnan said.
The team is 5-0 this season, winning by an average of 30 points. They have been playing unbelievably well, which is mostly due to the efforts of the coaching staff.
“The coaching staff, I think it’s playful at times and they’re really involved with the players and they joke and we joke with them and it’s a great environment to build. I feel like we play harder and we’re more one team than players because of the aspect that we can goof around and have fun with the coaches while also being able to really learn and take criticism. So it leads our teams to end up being better because of the way we interact and really have a competitive spirit at practice,” Mutnan said.
This team has many players who have had siblings play in both ninth grade, and through multiple years on high school JV and varsity teams. When having a brother who played on the same team, those expectations can be very high.
Carter Whitton is one of those players. Starting at wideout and safety, Whitton has racked up four touchdowns this year.
“The expectation is that we go undefeated because last year, my brother’s team won every game of the season,” Whitton said.
Throughout the season, this team continues to bond more and more every week. Quarterback Vic Downing is a big leader on the team. He jokes when it is time to joke and locks the team in when they need it most.
“Honestly, it is just through the roof when we’re in the locker room. Like, we all get in that mode, we all start yelling, screaming, getting ready for this game. And for example, Cedar Cliff, we are all in the locker room, we were all laughing, and then Coach says, alright game clock set, and we all just locked in and stopped talking,” Downing said.
As this season continues, the ninth grade team strives to complete a second straight undefeated season. The Little Lions are back in action on Oct. 16 when they host Carlisle. They then have one more home game, against Harrisburg, before traveling to Mifflin County to play the Huskies to close out the season.
