In the little town of Potosi, with a population of 650, resides a tradition so important to the community that it has a way of bringing all residents together over one common theme: football. Along with this comes a winning tradition that has been present with Potosi football for a very long time.
In the past five years, Potosi has only lost a total of six games and has won four straight conference championships, with one state championship game appearance. The Potosi Football team has had 17 consecutive playoff appearances from 2003 to the present.
However, this dynasty hasn't always existed. “I look back at my early years and feel sorry,” said Coach Siegert. He also added, “There were a lot of things I was doing wrong; it was definitely a learning process over the years.”
That all changed for Coach and the organization in 2002-2003. These years were the beginning of the weightlifting culture that is still so prevalent today. “The 120-day thing, and the workouts we instilled that are around to this day, really set this program off. What really perpetuated the program was the one or two guys that were in there lifting consistently hard, showing results, and setting an example for the rest of the team,” added coach Siegert. The goal is for all players to put in over 120 days of weightlifting in the summer before each new season begins.
Along with this culture shift came the winning tradition. This tradition has had many factors in its evolution and success, but one of the most prominent reasons is the constantly evolving practice environment. When asked if practices run the same or different from his early years, Head Coach Mark Siegert said, “I wouldn't say completely different, but there has been a lot of change. The game has changed, so I believe practice has to change along with that. Even over the last few years, our practices look different.”
These changes and adjustments outlined in this article and said by Coach Siegert are the many reasons why the Potosi-Cassville football program has remained so dominant in the Six Rivers Conference for many years, even more so since the co-op began in 2017