Inside the dark and dormant Humboldt High School Field House, the only sign of life is a faint sound clanging of metal as the Cubs prepare for their return atop the Tri-Valley League football standings.
Already mired in a significant rebuild, ill-timed injuries plagued the 2025 Cubs throughout their 3-6 campaign, but as iron sharpens iron, hard times also create motivated athletes, which Coach Logan Wyrick hopes to capitalize on in the weight room.
“The ones that have been here, have put in a lot of good work and in football in general,” Coach Wyrick said. “We have a lot of moving parts and seeing some committed to filling some roles is good to see.”
The Cubs were not just snakebit with injuries last season; they were entirely devoured by them. Following the loss of senior starter Mason Sterling with a season-ending leg injury, freshman Ty Shaughnessy received a few starts before suffering a season-ending leg injury.
While underclassmen seeing varsity time is not unusual in 2A football, the number of underclassmen filling in motivated some to speed along their development with additional time in the weight room.
“I’m proud of the younger guys for stepping up and taking a bigger role,” Shaughnessy said. “A lot of them saw playing time because of injuries, so I’m proud of them for sticking it out. We’re all hungry to get back at it. I’m ready to see the work we put in show out on the field.”
Along with a strong attendance to offseason weights, another positive indicator for the upcoming season was when Humboldt recently hosted area teams for a football camp.
For Shaughnessy, who will likely see time again at quarterback this season, playing against other programs allowed the Cubs to build confidence despite facing larger programs.
“We’ve done a lot in the weight room,” Shaughnessy said. “I was proud of how we did at camp. There were some 4As and some top 3As there. We stuck with them and did fine. Our younger guys had to fill in and they did just fine.”
Humboldt’s Kyler Mason balances more than 100 lbs. on his shoulders during Tuesday’s weight lifting session.
For Wyrick, the excitement generated by the camp and upcoming season may come with some trepidation. The Cubs are still young and underclassmen will play an even larger role this season, but it is a role they will be prepared for and not foisted upon.
“We’re going to be young, regardless, that’s just where we are,” Wyrick said. “Our sophomore class has been our top class as far as numbers in here (the weight room). Half of them will contribute and half will fill some big roles, fill in and still play JV. I tell them ‘You get four years, take advantage of that. You’ll have time to do everything else later, so make the most of them.’”
