Centralia striving to maintain consistency during 2025 season
CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Centralia Football has cracked the code for consistency on the gridiron.
The Panthers are preparing to hunt for their seventh straight winning season when the 2025 campaign kicks off on Friday, Aug. 29.
Centralia's run of success stretches even farther than just the last six years. Since 2010, The Panthers have posted a winning record in 13 of 15 seasons and have captured two district championships. Centralia has also never recorded less than six wins in a season during head coach Tyler Forsee's five-year tenure.
"A successful football program takes a lot of people. You got to have a good coaching staff. You got to have a lot of numbers. You got to have some tough kids. We have kids that come in, they work until 5:00 during the day, and so they come into weights at 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning. They sacrifice their sleep to come in and get their work in," Forsee said. "That makes it easy. I just go out and coach some football, and they take care of the work ethic, the attitude, the effort and put that on themselves."
With that recipe for success, the Panthers have enjoyed nine-win seasons in eight of the last 15 years. However, Coach Forsee's team is determined to keep raising the bar of the program. Ahead of the 2025 season, Centralia is eyeing its first district title since 2016 and working to continue building a culture where the players are also coaching themselves.
"We have high expectations," Forsee said. "Everybody puts the program at a very high standard, and it's not just football. We've had a lot of success in all of our sports. I kind of feel like we're trying to build a championship school. If you go look at our banners, we've put up a lot of banners in the last five years, and in a lot of different sports. We have a lot of kids in the building that are dedicated to their sport that work hard. We have a lot of good coaches and great support from our administration."
The Panthers have the necessary puzzle pieces to achieve their championship mission this year. Centralia has an experienced roster, which features plenty of talent that earned playing time last year. There are also several returning players who are healthy after battling injury during the 2024 campaign. However, arguably even more advantageous than the experience, Coach Forsee has a team that is fueled by competition.
"They compete at everything. Stretching. Who can lift the most? Who can run the fastest route? They compete at everything they do, and when the guys are doing that and they do it in a fun way, everybody benefits," Forsee said. "We get better because guys are just competing with each other. They just keep raising the bar for each other. Everybody tunes in."
Centralia is scheduled to host Mexico at Miller Field to begin its 2025 season.
