Mascoutah football coach Josh Lee continues to raise expectations
After serving as head football coach at Riverton High School for five seasons, Josh Lee stepped away from the sideline to give pharmaceutical sales a try.
The hiatus didn’t last long.
Lee, who had relocated his family to the metro east, was hired to take over as head coach in Mascoutah, which hadn’t been to the IHSA playoffs in six years and was coming off an 0-9 season.
Now in his fourth year, Lee will lead his team its first IHSA quarterfinal round game since 2008 when it takes on 14-time state champion Joliet Catholic in the Class 5A playoffs.
“The crazy thing about it is that last year I took my daughter Olivia up and we watched them (Joliet Catholic) play Montini in the (Class 5A) state title game,” Lee recalled. “We were sitting there and it was a great game and I said to her ‘we’re going to be playing these guys in the state semifinals next year.’ I remember she looked at me with a look like, ‘Dad, you’ve got a lot of work to do.’
“Well, it’s the quarterfinals, but here we are taking on one of the, if not the most successful football program in state history. We want to make this (Mascoutah) a special place. This is the kind of game we wanted to play in when we took the job four years ago.’’
Playing the defending state champion Hilltoppers on their home field may seem like a monumental task, but even getting to this point carried long odds a month ago. Mascoutah won its last three games of the regular season to earn a second straight playoff berth, then scored upset wins over higher seeded teams in Carbondale and Kankakee.
Anyone who is surprised by the Indians’ resurgence hasn’t spent much time around the team’s lockerroom.
“Am I surprised we’re here? No, I’m really not. When Coach Lee came in four years ago he changed our team culture,’’ Indians senior running back Devin Wills said after a cold practice Wednesday. “(The seniors) have played together since the sixth grade. We’ve been together for a long time and we always planned that by the time we were seniors that we would make a playoff run.”
The road to the playoffs hasn’t been an easy one for Lee, an Illiopolis native who played college football under coach Carl Poelker at McKendree University. Taking over for current Mascoutah Athletic Director Scott Battas in the spring of 2016, Lee’s first two Indians teams won just 4 of 18 games.
Last year, led by Wills on offense and all-state defensive end Malik Green on defense, the Indians finished 6-4 and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2009.
The difference, according to both players and coaches, has been in the weight room and in conditioning.
“That was probably the biggest thing — Mr. Battas and the administration adding a strength class. It’s where now I’m teaching six strength classes a day,” Lee said. “When I got here from Riverton, I was shocked. I was coming from a smaller school and this wasn’t what I was expecting at all.
“After the first year, I basically told him you’re weak and this is why you are getting physically dominated. To the kids credit, they bought into the program. They got in the weight room and got faster and stronger.’’
Battas, a Mascoutah graduate, said he was impressed with Lee from the outset. It didn’t take long to realize he had the right coach to lead the Indians into the future.
“When we hired Josh, we went through a very intense process looking for a person that was the best fit as far as what we needed to get not only the football program jump started again, but someone that could work along side me to get the entire athletic program to another level competitively speaking,’’ Battas said. “He was a guy that I felt like related to me as far as energy and passion, and who was equally as interested as I was in developing a strength program that make a significant mark on our entire athletic program.
“He has done that and more. Josh has been embraced by our students and coaches across the board, and given us a platform to raise the expectations for each program every day. We are lucky to have him here.’’
After finishing 1-8 in 2016, the Indians improved to 3-6 in Lee’s second year. It was at that time when Lee raised the expectations of his football program.
“We felt like we really improved that second year and at our end of the season meeting, I asked the team how many of them had even been to a high school football playoff game. I think six kids in all raised their hands,’’ Lee said. “... The kids from Highland, the kids from Triad, they know what it’s like to go into the weight room in the off-season knowing what it’s like to put on a playoff shirt. Our kids had never experienced that until this year. ‘’
Kickoff time at Joliet Catholic on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to play either Rochester or Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the semifinals next week.
“In our quadrant, the four teams have combined to win 27 state championships. We’re in that group We’ve got one,’’ Lee said alluding to the Indians 1979 state title.
“Joliet Catholic is a great football program with a lot of tradition and discipline. They don’t make many mistakes and they don’t beat themselves. We’re going up with the mindset of playing as well and as hard as we can for four quarters and see what happens.’’
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
