The Ironmen football team will aim to make history Friday night as they head to Champaign to take on the Centennial Chargers. A victory would mark the 700th win in program history, making Community only the 10th Illinois high school football team to reach such a milestone.

For head coach Mr. Jason Drengwitz, who has guided the Ironmen to 53 of those wins in his seven-season tenure, the opportunity “is humbling and awe-inspiring.”

The program’s all-time record—699-358—is a testament to the program’s “tremendous consistency,” the coach said.

It’s “a direct result of outstanding coaches” like Coach Tharp, Coach Venerable and Coach Temples.

It comes courtesy of “great assistant coaches, talented players and great families,” Drengwitz said.

“Anytime you have continued success over multiple years, it is really impressive,” the coach said, “it is really credit to all those people that are involved—from the head coach to the assistant coaches to our players and families.”

Dick Tharp’s legacy is hard for Ironmen to ignore.

Tharp, the winningest coach in Ironmen history with 158 victories, was honored in 2021 as Community’s football field was dedicated in his honor.

Members of Tharp’s 1974 squad were on hand for last Friday’s 71-12 win over Danville. Community paid tribute to ’74 team, honoring the 50th anniversary of their State runner-up finish.

The former players attended Thursday’s team dinner; they stood at the 50-yard line for Friday’s coin toss; videos played on the scoreboard during the game’s halftime, speaking about the meaning, the impact, the legacy of Iron football.

“Connecting our players to the past,” Drengwitz said, “is a really neat experience. Ironmen football is about more than us. It’s about people that have come before us and trying to keep those connections strong.”

That connection is essential in helping today’s students understand the significance of what it means to be an Ironman: “They’re responsible for something really, really special, whether it’s Ironmen football, Ironmen basketball, baseball, whatever.”

“We definitely don’t want to take it for granted,” the coach said.

The 700-win milestone, Drengwitz said, “is a reflection” of the thousands of people over the decades that “have made this program what it is.”

Without coaches like Venerable and Temples, without the teams who played under them, Community couldn’t have clinched a 28th consecutive playoff berth last Friday.

Venerable, on the way to a 126-37 record, led the Ironmen to 12 consecutive playoff appearances. After finishing as State runners-up in 2005, Venerable and the Iron took home Community’s only State championship in 2006.

Drengwitz and Temples were on the staff then, serving as assistants.

After a Semifinal appearance in 2007, Temples inherited the mantle of head coach.

Over the next decade, Temples and the Iron went 83-25, making 10 straight playoff appearances.  

That is a streak Drengwitz preserved after Temples stepped down and took a position as Normal West’s Athletic Director.

Under Drengwitz’s direction this season, Community is 6-1 ahead of Friday’s road contest against Centennial.

They head to Champaign facing a team fighting for its playoff life, as the Chargers hold a 4-3 record with two games to play.

“They’ve got their playoff lives on the line,” Drengwitz said. “We have a big challenge in front of us.”

With the stage set for a historic night, the Ironmen will look to cement their place in Illinois football history when the contest kicks off at 7 p.m. in Champaign.