In the 10 years since Nick David took the reins of the Mound Westonka football team, he's done what many believed was close to impossible: Turn a perennial loser into one of the winningest programs in the Twin Cities.
From a familiar spot, Mound Westonka aims for an unfamiliar next step
The White Hawks are unbeaten, but previous perfect regular-season records have not translated to playoff success.
October 19, 2022 at 10:44PM
He's a Waterville native, and his success — his record at Mound Westonka is 59-30, and the football team has won more games under him than in the team's previous 32 seasons combined — has helped turned the entire athletic program.
"When I got here, the athletics culture wasn't great," he said. "When the football program started winning, other teams started winning. Winning breeds success."
The White Hawks are 7-0 this season and ranked first in Class 4A, thanks to one of the strongest lineups of David's tenure. They're averaging 50.4 points per game, and the defense has allowed only seven first-half points all season. It's a veteran team that has come up through David's system, and he expected it to be good.
"We're pretty stout," he said. "We basically have six of our seven starting linemen back. Those are our leaders. And with linemen, those guys are the types that put in the work and do what they have to do to get better."
David counts himself as that type. He was twice an all-MIAC selection at defensive tackle when he played for Gustavus.
Even amid prosperity, there is still a ways to go. A victory over a tough Spectrum team Wednesday would send the White Hawks into the Class 4A, Section 6 playoffs with an 8-0 record for the fourth time under David. On the three previous occasions, they lost in their first playoff game.
In fact, they have never won a section title. David admits that not winning a playoff game last year weighed heavily on him. "I was more depressed as a coach than I've ever been," he said.
He's adamant about his team not looking ahead, taking that one-game-at-a-time approach. "As cliché as that sounds, that's what we do," he said.
As the regular season hits its end, he's feels the weight of the postseason.
"Do I want to win a state title? I do. I have dreams," he said. "We've talked about it. We've done 8-0 before. What's next?"
State rankings update
Lester Prairie landed atop Class 1A in the latest state football rankings, rising because of BOLD's loss Friday to Kimball Area.
BOLD (6-1) fell to No. 5. Lester Prairie (7-0) rose from No. 2.
Elsewhere in the rankings:
St. Francis (7-0) rose to No. 4 in Class 5A, setting up Wednesday's clash with No. 3 Elk River.
Mound Westonka rose to third in Class 4A, taking the spot Simley held before losing Friday to Mahtomedi.
CLASS 6A
1. Maple Grove (8) 7-0 89; 2. Rosemount (1) 7-0 81; 3. Stillwater 7-0 72; 4. Eden Prairie 5-2 61; 5. Lakeville South 5-2 56; 6. Centennial 5-2 38; 7. Shakopee 5-2 34; 8. Forest Lake 6-1 26; 9. Woodbury 6-1 16; 10. Prior Lake 4-3 14. Also receiving votes: White Bear Lake 6, Minnetonka 1.
CLASS 5A
1. Mankato West (8) 7-0 97; 2. St. Thomas Academy (2) 7-0 92; 3. Elk River 7-0 81; 4. St. Francis 7-0 65; 5. Mahtomedi 6-1 63; 6. Chanhassen 6-1 44; 7. Rochester Mayo 6-1 42; 8. Sauk Rapids-Rice 6-1 25;
9. Robbinsdale Armstrong 6-1 24; 10. Waconia 5-2 7. Also receiving votes: Bloomington Kennedy 4, Andover 3, Chaska 1, Spring Lake Park 1, St. Paul Harding/Humboldt.
CLASS 4A
1. Stewartville (7) 7-0 92; 2. Hutchinson (1) 6-1 90; 3. Mound Westonka (1) 7-0 78; 4. Becker (1) 6-1 74; 5. Marshall 7-0 56; 6. Grand Rapids 7-0 50; 7. Simley 6-1 48; 8. Rocori 5-2 18; 9. Fridley 5-2 10; 10. (tie) Hermantown 5-2 7; 10. (tie) Willmar 5-2 7. Also receiving votes: Holy Angels 5, North Branch 5, Byron 4, Kasson-Mantorville 3, Princeton 3.
CLASS 3A
1. Esko (8) 7-0 95; 2. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (2) 7-0 90; 3. Dassel-Cokato 6-1 75; 4. Rochester Lourdes 6-1 69; 5. Cannon Falls 6-1 57; 6. Waseca 6-1 50; 7. Watertown-Mayer 6-1 36; 8. Milaca 6-1 35; 9. New London-Spicer 6-1 31; 10. Minneapolis Henry 6-1 6. Also receiving votes: Fairmont 4, Pequot Lakes 3
CLASS 2A
1. Chatfield (9) 7-0 99; 2. Minneapolis North 7-0 89; 3. Barnesville 7-0 79; 4. Jackson County Central 7-0 69; 5. Caledonia 6-1 53; 6. Eden Valley-Watkins 7-0 53; 7. Kimball Area 7-0 38; 8. St. Clair/Mankato Loyola 7-0 28; 9. Blue Earth Area 6-1 15; 10. Rush City 7-0 9. Also receiving votes: Rush City 8, St. Agnes 7, Osakis 5, Pipestone Area 5.
CLASS 1A
1. Lester Prairie (6) 7-0 95; 2. Mahnomen/Waubun (2) 7-0 86; 3. Fillmore Central 7-0 72; 4. Deer River (1) 7-0 67; 5. BOLD (1) 6-1 56; 6. Minneota 6-1 55; 7. Lakeview 6-1 40; 8. Mayer Lutheran 5-2 20; 9. Dawson-Boyd 6-1 19; 10. New York Mills 6-1 18. Also receiving votes: Rushford-Peterson 10, Martin County West 7, Ada-Borup/West 2, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 1, Red Lake County 1, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 1.
NINE-MAN
1. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (6) 7-0 94; 2. Lanesboro (1) 7-0 81; 3. Fertile-Beltrami (2) 7-0 78; 4. Mountain Iron-Buhl 7-0 69; 5. Spring Grove (1) 7-0 67; 6. Renville County West 7-0 55; 7. Kittson Country Central 7-0 39; 8. Verndale 6-1 21; 9. Hancock 6-1 20; 10. Cherry 6-1 16. Also receiving votes: Nevis 6, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 3, Mabel-Canton 1.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
