Harlem aims to sustain success after record-breaking season

HARLEM, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - At the start of every football season, teams come into camp with a chip on their shoulders in one way or another.

After a few up-and-down years, the goal for the Harlem Bulldogs is to find a way to sustain the success they had in 2022.

“Complacency breeds failure. We can’t just let one good season put us in a mindset that we don’t have to work to get better. I think it’s just about not just having one great season but trying to build a program that’s going to sustain that level of success,” said Head Coach Mark Boiter.

Harlem is coming off a region championship-winning season, which included an eight-game winning streak along the way. This helped them finish 2022 with a 10-2 overall record and a playoff win.

“We’ve got to want to get after it. We can’t just want to get off the field like Coach said yesterday. We need to do everything with a whole heart,” said Senior Running Back Dyson Maddox.

Last year was Harlem’s first 10-plus win season in school history.

“We lost about 22 seniors last year, but I think we’re trying to focus on our players right now and just trying to build a better bond and just go out there and be better than we ever were,” said Senior Quarterback Ethan Evangelista.

Twenty-two seniors graduated in the spring, and even with all that turnover, the Bulldogs had plenty of underclassmen see the field.

This allowed them the chance to carry that momentum into 2023.

“I have strong bonds with all of my receivers, all my running backs, all my line, and I think that this time, we just really have to put in that crunch time, get those reps in, and get the perfection that we need,” he said.

Maddox said: “I know that the other people on the other side of the ball are trying to get us better and that we’re trying to get them better. So, if we go as hard as we can for the other side, then we’ll just be a better side as a whole.”

The Harlem Bulldogs will kick off the new season on their home turf against the Greenbrier Wolfpack on August 18.

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