Campbell football hopes intangibles will make a difference in D3 final

It was pretty early on in the process when Greg Gush started to notice he had a different kind of football team at Campbell High School this season.

The Cougars had been a playoff team in two of the three previous years, including winning a Division III title in 2014, and the coaching staff expected this season to be another successful one.

But as offseason workouts turned into summer practices, and then into scrimmages and games, there were some unique characteristics that stood out among the players.

"The two words that come to mind immediately are coachability and toughness," Gush said. "We’ve got a group that is more physical than any team that I’ve had here. That’s not to take away from any of those teams, because we’ve had physical teams, but this is a physical group."

That's been evident in Campbell's style of play all season, as the coaches decided to switch the Cougars' offense to the single wing formation this season. They've been a run-heavy team behind the rushing of senior Ryan Yanuszewski and sophomore Keegan Mills, both of whom have rushed for over a thousand yards on the season.

But the players' abilities to pick up on the things the coaches ask of them, whether it be switching offenses on the fly or in-game adjustments, has set this Campbell group apart, and helped the Cougars (10-0) advance to the D3 title game, where they'll face Monadnock (10-0) at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

"To make the changes that we’ve made, even mid-game, making significant changes and saying here’s what is happening, now we need to block that this way," Gush said. "That’s not easy to do when we’ve repped it this way all week, and now we need to block it this way.

"They’ve done an incredible job with that. There have been times where teams come off the field and you go ‘what’s going on out there?’ Those guys are our eyes and ears coming off the field and they’ve been incredibly helpful. They are very coachable."

Gush also feels that, the changes Campbell made to its offense this season, has allowed it to be a team that can handle any kind of weather. Saturday's forecast is calling for rain at times with temperatures in the 40s.

"Early on, we felt good that we were sort of built for November," Gush said. "We weren’t spread out, throwing the ball everywhere. Back in 2014, if it was a horrible day, we probably aren’t winning. This team is built for November."

The Cougars still have a handful of seniors who were on the sidelines as freshmen during the 2014 title game, including Yanuszewski, Devin Ventura, Osten Anderson and Nick Boucher, who started at receiver that day. Campbell knocked off Newport 20-6 to win the program's only title.

Even having those players who experienced the team's last trip to the University of New Hampshire, Gush expects there still be a few wide eyes when they get on the field for the first time.

"That’s really a part of this," the coach said. "The changes in the venue from 2014 is extraordinary. It’s incredible. They’re going to be blown away when they see it. Enjoy every part of it. We’re going there to win a football game, but take a moment to step back. It doesn’t happen all the time."