No team is likely to hang a banner after two wins. But for Seton Hill football, two wins represent a step in the right direction.

The Griffins enter Saturday’s game against Edinboro (noon at Offutt Field) looking for their third consecutive victory. They are coming off come-from-behind wins over PSAC West foes Gannon and Mercyhurst.

“As far as wins and losses, I had no idea,” said first-year coach Daniel Day, who was part of the school’s first football team in 2005. “Nor did I say, ‘This is what I want to hit.’ My whole approach and outlook has been culture.”

Over the past two seasons, the Griffins went a combined 1-21. Day was determined to bring the program out of the PSAC basement, but first he had to temper the expectations of the seniors.

That group, Day said, wanted to be the one to turn around the program and win seven or eight games. The notion sounded good in theory, but Day said he and his staff knew the fix might not be that quick.

Then, the Griffins (2-4, 2-2) lost their first four games of the season. The more they lost, the more pressure the players put on themselves, and the “here we go again” mentality threatened to creep in.

“Me personally, I tried to push too hard and get too much all at once,” redshirt senior quarterback Ryan Barabe said.

Day had the team narrow its focus. Forget winning a game. Through the first four weeks, the Griffins didn’t even win a quarter.

Rather than being fixated on the final score, Day said, the team needed to adopt a one-play-at-a-time mentality. Redshirt senior defensive back Fardan Allen said they also had to get back to having some good, old-fashioned fun.

“We have to remind the guys that this is a sport, and they should be having fun playing this game,” he said. “Going into the week of Gannon, that’s all we were harping on, was have fun.

“We tried to do too much at the beginning of our season, but once we turned it back to having fun and competing, we got the results we wanted.”

Against Gannon, which was Seton Hill’s homecoming game, the Griffins got a safety and a 17-yard touchdown pass from Barabe to Matthew Williams in the final 48 seconds to pull out a 25-21 win. At Mercyhurst last week, Seton Hill scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns — a 1-yard run by Barabe and a 78-yard pass from Barabe to Michael Valentino — to win 30-20.

Allen sealed that game win a late interception — his second of the day — in the end zone.

Barabe completed 48 of 63 passes for 598 yards and five TDs with no interceptions in the two wins.

“I see everybody coming out and wanting more,” Barabe said. “Fardan and I have been here a long time, and a lot of the upperclassmen have been here a long time, and we haven’t experienced winning as much as we like. I just feel like we’re all hungry to get another one and keep this thing rolling.”

Winning consistently is the next step. Fifty-four players are new to the program, so Day will have a large group to carry the current lessons into the next couple of seasons.

For the outgoing seniors, they are comfortable knowing their impact might not be felt right away.

“Worry about what this program is going to become,” Day said about his message to the seniors. “You might really feel the benefits and reap the rewards three years down the road, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t part of it.”

Added Allen: “Remember who you’re playing for: the brother to the left of you and to the right. Sometimes, you have to understand it’s bigger than you.”

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