State championships aren't hoped for at Winfield High School; they are expected. However, bringing home the coveted hardware and all it entails has eluded the school's football program for quite some time.This was not always the case.Throughout the 1970s and '80s, the Generals were a football powerhouse. Winning season after winning season enchanted a community with more dreams that people. Not many teams could withstand the Generals' strength, endurance and agility that Coach Leon McCoy, now a state legend, and his training methods produced.His unique weightlifting program allowed players to maximize strength by using heavy weight on repetitions of 10, eight and six. It's a method that Coach McCoy still instills in his gym students to this day, and when he initiated it, the training regimen had never before been undertaken in any Putnam County high school.As the wins piled up so did hopes for the future. However, it's true that all good things must come to an end. The kelly green buzzsaw that wreaked havoc on so many football programs throughout the tri-state finally became dull.After a 2-8 comeback attempt made by Coach McCoy in 1994 (followed by a return to retirement), the school's football program seemed to be on a downward spiral. If not Coach McCoy, then who? Coach Jack Erwin took over as head coach the next year, but during his two-year stint, not a single victory was recorded. An 0-20 record forced Erwin out of the equation, and an overall 25 game losing streak had the community looking to other sports for comfort — and to the administration for results.When Coach Bruce McGrew arrived at Winfield, spirits were low and expectations high. The former Poca High School assistant turned the program around slightly, producing a 48-56 record before accepting the role of the school's athletic director.In 2007, coaches once again changed in the county's capital, as the playbook was handed over to Coach Willie Wilson, a former Huntington East High School all-state quarterback and member of the Marshall University football squad. Wilson most recently spent seven seasons as an offensive coordinator at Cabell Midland. An exciting offense and intricate playbook has lead the the Generals to a 4-4 season with two games left, not quite restoring a team that was once synonymous with victory but improving over last year's 3-7 record. Coach Lombardi once said, "Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is." Perhaps the Hall of Fame coach is wrong in this instance, though. As Coach Wilson attempts to revive a legacy that is slowly fading into history, for Winfield, at least for now, winning is everything.