It appears that the Mavs football fortunes may have finally taken a turn in the era of Coach Lee Penland once safety Brennon Veazy crossed the goal line on his interception return, giving the Mavs the lead for good in their first victory since last year’s season opener over Bastrop.
Despite holding a 21-7 advantage in first downs and having 100 more yards than the Cardinals, the Mavs found themselves down by four with just over four minutes and some change to go. It seemed that the Maverick football team couldn’t catch any breaks and was heading towards another loss.
That all changed in one play when Veazy picked off a tipped ball by linebacker Zach Vaughan and took it 48 yards for the score. All the demons that have plagued the Mav football program seemed to have disappeared with that one play, and when the clock finally had three zeroes on it, there was a massive celebration on the sideline.
For once the players had a smile on their face during the school song.
Despite the game being so close, it shouldn’t have been. The Maverick defense started fast causing a fumble on Del Valle’s first series, leading to a quick score on fullback Matt Zebrowski’s two-yard plunge. The Mavs dominated the first half, leading 17-7 at the break following Colton Russell’s 28-yard pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Murphy.
The second half wasn’t as pretty as Del Valle returned an interception for a touchdown and took the lead on a long touchdown run before Veazy’s interception return.
The next Friday, the Mavs were looking for their first winning streak in three years as they took on the Austin High Maroons.
The game was highly disappointing. Following a strong performance against Del Valle, the defense allowed almost 400 yards rushing in a 48-27 defeat. Russell led the Mavs offense on the ground with 101 yards on 14 carries.
“We just didn’t have the same intensity we had against Austin than we did against Del Valle,” senior offensive tackle Spencer Pepper said.
Despite an up and down start to the Mavs’ season, junior running back Donnie Holmes has been a bright spot on offense, running for 409 yards and five touchdowns in 4 games.
The Mavs open up district play Friday against Stony Point at 7 p.m. at the Palace.
