James Monroeโs stint in Class A was highly successful.
After Covid derailed much of the Mavericksโ first season in the stateโs smallest class, they handed out more beatings than they took over the following three years going 6-3 in the playoffs from 2021-23. That success yielded a state runner-up finish in 2022 and a semifinal berth in 2023.
Now the Mavericks find themselves caught between worlds.
With the new classification shift that added a fourth class, James Monroe has bumped from Class A to Class AA. But itโs not uncharted territory for the Mavericks who were a Class AA program from 1994-2019 under the three-class system.
Theyโll be joined by some former Class A schools in the same boat as well as some traditional Class AA powers theyโre used to facing.
โThere are so many good teams,โ James Monroe head coach John Mustain said. โWe got Bluefield back on the schedule last year, and Bluefield is Bluefield year in and year out, theyโre gonna be hard to beat. They always have so much talent. Freddy (Simon) does such a good job over there with those kids. But a lot of the ones of the teams who were in single-A with us came back up to double-A as well. So it has a very similar look, but there again, there are a few differences. And then, of course, theyโve had these changes here the last three or four weeks, and that kind of changes the landscape as well. So to me, it doesnโt matter really where you are. There are always going to be teams that are going to be tough to beat, and no oneโs just going to mail it in for you no matter whether youโre single-A, double-A or whatever. Youโre going to have to go out there and earn it, and hopefully we can do that.โ
The Mavericks were ransacked by graduation, losing all-state skill players Chaz Boggs and Cooper Ridgeway as well as trench standouts Ashton Evans, Jacob Hall, Justin Feamster and Jackson Phipps on the offensive line. But they do have a pair of foundational pieces returning.
Senior lineman Brady Baker is a two-way player in the trenches thatโs started since his freshman year. Heโs drawn interest from several DI schools. The man heโll protect is also a longtime starter. Layton Dowdy took snaps at QB as a freshman before shattering program passing records as a sophomore with over 30 passing touchdowns. He had a strong season again last year as a junior with 17 touchdown passes to just five interceptions and is more polished than ever heading into his senior year.
โLaytonโs Layton,โ Mustain said. โI mean he can see things even better this year, and of course, Brady, he anchors down that line on both sides of the ball. His experience, heโs the type thatโs really good at helping out the younger players as they learn the ropes and the things theyโre supposed to do on both sides of the ball. So to me weโre looking at two really good leaders in that regard.โ
Dowdyโs top target in Boggs is gone but Mustain feels confident in the young skill players he has around Dowdy.
โWell I feel like we definitely have the capability of running and passing pretty well,โ Mustain said. โYou know, maybe a tad bit more passing. I think weโve got several kids that I feel like can help us as far as receiving and so forth. Weโve really been focusing a lot on running patterns correctly, and I think thatโs going to help out a lot. But again, I think Iโm the type that if we can run the ball and be successful, Iโm happy with that. But itโs good to have a good balance, because youโre going to need it between the passing and the running game, and I feel like the potential is there for us to have that.โ
The Mavericks have also been stout defensively and their best years have often been led by overwhelming defensive efforts. Mustain expects much of the same again, despite replacing numerous all-staters on that side of the ball.
โWe lost, once again we lost Chaz and lost Cooper (Ridgeway) at linebacker as far as the secondary and linebackers go,โ Mustain said. โBut again weโve got kids back who played there last year. As far as the DBs go I think itโs a lot of same kids that weโre probably going to be looking at and theyโve been showing us a good bit. They seem to cover very well. I really feel like our defense again this year is going to be a strong point for us and in all the years James Monroeโs been around weโve always had a pretty solid defense, in my opinion. I donโt think this year will be any different. Again thereโs some kids coming back that either started or saw significant time on the defensive side. So, I really feel like we should have a good strong defense.โ
James Monroe will open its season Friday against Class AA contender Wheeling Central.
