When the Klahowya Secondary School football team entered the locker room at halftime tied 0-0 during a game last month, many of the players bumped fists and hooted in joy.

The Eagles, on a two-season long losing streak, one of the longest in the state, were keeping pace with North Kitsap High School at Silverdale Stadium.

“We were happy, we were keeping up with them,” remembered senior Jeremy Bierele, a four-year player and a captain. “We were cheering like any team would.”

The Eagles went on to lose the game 7-0, extending what is now an 18-game losing streak that dates back to 2008. The team is 0-15 and has lost 11 games by at least 30 points under second-year coach Lyle Prouse, giving Klahowya the dubious distinction of holding the state’s third-longest losing streak.

Among active 11-man football teams, the Eagles trail only Class 2B Raymond High School of the Pacific League, which has lost 20 straight, and 4A Emerald Ridge High School of the South Puget Sound League, which has lost 19 in a row.

Tyee High School of the 3A/2A Seamount League entered 2010 on a 25-game losing streak. The school didn’t field a team for varsity competition this season.

But as evident as Klahowya’s slide is in the standings, the toll it’s taken on the team and football program is more glaring.

Morale is so low, athletes and parents said this week, that some players hatched a plan to walk off the field at the upcoming Oct. 15 homecoming game against North Mason High School. The idea was sacked after it circulated the hallways, reaching administration and the coaching staff.

“The players were going to take it into their own hands,” said Bierele, who was among those who planned to place his helmet on the field and walk away following the national anthem. “The only reason they didn’t follow through with it was because they didn’t want to be called quitters.”

Bierele learned this week he wouldn’t play another game in 2010 because of a shoulder injury, but even more than being sidelined for his senior season, he is upset with the way he and many of his teammates have been treated.

The running back said he was asked last season to turn in his gear following a season-ending knee injury and was not allowed to watch practices, stand on the sidelines during home games or ride the team bus to away games.

“I wanted to be with the team, to support them,” Bierele said. “But once you’re injured, you are off the team.”

Quarterback Kevin Schiffman, also a senior, believes many of the team’s problems stem from a lack of communication between the coaches.

There have been times, Schiffman said, when he’s received conflicting instructions from coaches, then been chastised for failing to follow direction. He was benched for the second half of Klahowya’s game against Kingston High School last week after what he said was a disagreement with Prouse.

“It’s been confusing,” he said. “They have problems even in practice when they tell us what to run. It doesn’t seem like they are on the same page that much.”

When asked four times by email to comment on the team’s struggles, Prouse declined. He did not return three phone messages.

“I think I’ll pass,” he said by email Tuesday.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Sheets was less critical than his teammates, saying the squad lacks confidence more than anything. He described the attitude in the locker room as “frustrated,” but that there’s “not really tension.”

“We’re going out and playing as hard as we can, but we just can’t hold it together,” Sheets said.

Head coaches at Klahowya work under one-year contracts, Athletic Director Todd Winters said, and they are evaluated at the end of each season. Success, Winters added, isn’t always measured in wins and losses. Participation rates and “getting kids involved” are top priorities.

“What our program should be about is learning life lessons,” Winters said. “They should be having positive experiences and growing as a person.”

Although he wouldn’t comment on the future of Prouse, Winters said he retained Prouse after a winless 2009 because the coach deserved more time to find success.

“The first year is always crazy,” Winters said. “It’s unfair to only let a coach coach for one year.”

Tyler Schiffman, the father of senior quarterback Kevin Schiffman and the only parent who would comment publicly, said his biggest concern with the team is a lack of leadership. From his perch in the grandstands, he sees a confused team. Other parents were contacted, but none agreed to comment on the record.

“It just seems like there is a lack of leadership,” he said.

As for complaints directed at the coach from parents and players, Winters said those issues are typical of most teams.

“Every year we have parents unhappy for various reasons,” he said. “Some of it’s about playing time, some of it’s about kids not getting better, the list goes on and on about why kids are not happy.”

It would be difficult to find a coach who hasn’t endured at least one losing streak in their career, or inherited a struggling team.

Ronn Jackson, a first-year coach at Cleveland High School in Seattle, snapped the school’s 15-game losing streak with a win over Chief Sealth High School earlier this season. Jackson said that by winning one game, the attitude of the entire team changed instantly.

“Oh, my goodness, it was like we had won the state title,” Jackson said of the win. “The vibe that I got was that the confidence level went up so quick. You could see the pride they had after the game. The parents were happy, the coaches were happy, I was very happy.”

Although Cleveland hasn’t won since it snapped the streak, Jackson believes the players are confident and can win again.

Sometimes, the coach said, one victory is enough to turn a season around.

“Winning that game, they were able to come to school with their chin up,” Jackson said. “They were proud.”

Despite the frustration at Klahowya, Schiffman shared a similar sentiment. He said the team has internalized losing, meaning the players are beginning to expect poor results when they step on the field.

A victory, he said, would change that.

“Once we get that first win, we can get it rolling,” Schiffman said. “We realize we can hang with most of these kids. We just need to keep our heads up.”

Clipped wings

Klahowya’s last win came in October 2008, 41-14, over Kingston High School.

Here’s how the team has fared since that victory, losing 18 consecutive games:

2008

Oct. 24 at Steilacoom L 14-41

Nov. 1 Eatonville L 21-28

Nov. 7 at Washington L 14-28

2009

Sept. 4 Bremerton L 12-35

Sept. 11 at Olympic L 0-60

Sept. 18 Chimacum L 16-40

Sept. 25 at North Mason L 0-64

Oct. 2 Sequim L 0-47

Oct. 9 at Fife L 0-50

Oct. 16 at Kingston L 6-45

Oct. 22 Steilacoom L 20-50

Oct. 30 at Eatonville L 8-51

Nov. 6 Washingon L 12-39

2010

Sept. 3 *at Steilacoom L 0-60

Sept. 9 *at Chimacum L 14-67

Sept. 17 at Sequim L 0-53

Sept. 24 North Kitsap L 0-7

Oct. 1 Kingston L 13-49