Entering the 2021 season, the James Monroe football team had not made the postseason playoffs in four years.
A return to the playoffs this year also seemed unlikely coming off a season that basically didn’t exist where the Mavericks played only four games because of the pandemic.
Toss in an opening season loss at Sherman followed by the another Covid shutout and the playoff light began to dim in Lindside.
Five straight wins, however, and a 7-3 overall record silenced the doubters and sent James Monroe back to familiar territory.
Friday night, the No. 7 rated Mavericks will host No. 10 Trinity Christian (7-2) in round one of the playoffs.
“I am just happy for these kids and especially for these seniors. Basically they didn’t have a season last year,” James Monroe head coach John Mustain said. “We came into this season with little or no varsity experience and for them to accomplish this, to me, is pretty spectacular.”
In the crucial five-game winning streak that turned the season around, James Monroe did not allow an opponent to score more than 14 points.
“When you look at the overall picture, the one thing that has remained steady is our defense. They have made some plays when we needed to,” Mustain said. “We have three kick returns and I know of at least one pick-6. It has been an exciting year. We have battled the Covid situation and maybe the biggest thrill of it all is getting all 10 games in. That is an accomplishment in itself.”
While Mustain is happy his team has played all 10 games, he readily points to the lack of play last year as a big problem his team had to overcome.
“It wasn’t anybody’s fault, but they have gone through a lot of growing pains this year. I am like any coach, there is still a lot of things that we have to get better at, but all in all, they did what they needed to do,” Mustain said. “I think anything we do can work, but one of the problems we have had this year is missed assignments, particularly on the line. We have two seniors on the line and really only one has a lot of experience.”
Having weathered plenty of playoff battles as the head coach. Mustain knows blown assignments in the postseason can be the difference between moving forward or going home.
“We have talked to them about focus. We have to focus on our assignments and do our jobs If one person doesn’t do their job, a big play can happen for the other team,” Mustain said. “If we do our assignments, play hard and play physical, I like our chances. Trinity is a team that you can’t fool around with because they have some weapons.”
Sophomore Cooper Ridgeway and senior Grant Lively have been the offensive stalwarts for the Mavs, while juniors Braydie Carr and Eli Allen have shined on defense.
In just its third year after re-starting its football program, the Warriors have been impressive to say the least. The only two losses suffered by Trinity have been to top-rated Cameron. Mustain knows his team will have to play well Saturday to come away with a win.
“I think they are pretty good from what I have seen on film. They have a very balanced attack. They have a pretty good running back and a solid quarterback,” Mustain said. “They like to run the bubble screen and get you out in space. They do it pretty well. The thing I keep telling our kids is, if they think we are hungry, Trinity is likely to be that much more. This is their first year in the playoffs. It is a very big deal for them.
Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The winner will play next week against either No. 15 Midland Trail or No. 2 Doddridge County.
