FERRIDAY — Week to week improvement is the main theme for Huntington School for the remainder of the season.

Hounds head coach Chad Harkins is hoping the improvements his team makes on a weekly basis will translate into wins at some point late in the season.

“I think this past week we were a little bit better than the week before,” Harkins said. “We’ll start playing some more 1A teams after this week, which will hopefully give us an opportunity to get a few wins.”

Before Huntington has a chance to face off against those 1A teams, it has the daunting task of going up against Glenbrook this Friday.

“They’re a 2A school now,” Harkins said. “They played for the state championship in 1A last year and lost, but won it in 1A the year before. They’ve always got good coaching and are fundamentally sound. They’re definitely a tough competitor for us (to face).”

Despite what has been a rough season for the Hounds (1-5, 0-2) thus far, Harkins said the attitude of his players has remained upbeat.

“I think our kids have understood that we’ve had some unforeseen adversity face us this year,” Harkins said. “After losing several kids in the manner that we lost them, it’s made it tough.

“I think they know there’s definitely greener grass on the other side (as in, next season). They’re going to keep working hard, and it’ll pay off in the years to come.”

While tacking on a few wins at the end of the season would be nice, Harkins said the main thing he wants his players to take from this year is what’s being learned in practice.

“We definitely want to come out with a lot of wins, but if we can look back and see that we’re making improvements, I think our kids understand that’s the most important,” Harkins said.

In the Hounds’ 28-6 loss to Briarfield last Friday, they only trailed 15-6 going into the fourth quarter, and Harkins said his team simply ran out of gas following the game.

“I don’t necessarily think we’re out of shape,” Harkins said. “I think you can basically chalk it up to our youthfulness. It’s hard for a 14-year-old to stay mentally focused for four quarters against a 17-year-old, especially when they’re taking a beating.”

One thing Harkins said he’s learned from this season is that experience is something that can’t be taught.

“I was the head coach at Block one year, when we went 8-2 in the regular season and lost in the first round of the playoffs,” Harkins said.

“Even though our players were good enough to win in the regular season that year, they weren’t battle-tested in the playoffs, and it showed. You can’t just teach experience, you have to have some guys who have been in the battle before.”