Team seeks more after football program’s first win

HOLLYWOOD — When the International School of Broward high school football team earned the first win in program history, they didn’t react like you might expect.

Although the Pumas suffered two winless seasons before finally getting their first taste of victory in Week 2 of their third year, players acted like they’ve been there before.

“They won the game and there wasn’t no dumping water on the coach,” said ISB coach Charles McCrea, who started the program in 2015. “It was like, ‘All right Coach, who’s next?’

“That reaction, when you’re looking at your team, you’re like, ‘They’re ready. They’re getting there.’ ”

After back-to-back 0-9 campaigns, ISB, a small charter school in Hollywood that began classes in 2007, took down Pembroke Pines Charter 26-2 on Aug. 31 in the Pumas’ last game.

“The win was a long time coming for the team,” McCrea said. “I was more excited for the guys that have been here for a while.”

Junior two-way player Darrien Lundy, who was a freshman when the program began, sees the culture changing.

“We’ve got people that really want to play this year,” Lundy said.

ISB winless start was partially because of the competition it was playing. McCrea has always put together schedules as tough as any in the state.

In Week 1, ISB was up in Georgia to play Lowndes, ranked 21st nationally. On Friday, the Pumas travel to face Grayson, Georgia’s topranked team and 12th in the nation, according to MaxPreps. The following week, they’ll visit defending Class 4A state champ Cocoa and still have a trip to Cincinnati on the horizon.

It’s part of McCrea’s philosophy in what he calls a five-year plan, in which he envisions the team eventually reaching the level of the competition it faces regularly.

“If you win or not, it shows you what you have to do to get better so your team can be the best, too,” center Germain Joseph said.

While ISB went independent this season after previously competing in Class 2A, McCrea hopes to return to the state series where his team can compete among small schools for a state title.

“The sky’s the limit for our team,” he said.