On Friday, Sept. 13, varsity football played against the division rival Westwood Warriors in the Mavericks’ district opener. In their first game this season that didn’t go to overtime, the Mavs won in a dominant 35-14 victory.

“The first two [games] we lost, but the team knows we should’ve won,” junior tight end Bowen Wheatley said. “We deserved to win those two but there were complications on special teams. After this win against Westwood we definitely feel more confident.”

Although there were missteps in the Mavs’ offense in the first half, the Mavs were up 14-0, the largest lead they’ve held this season. 

“I wouldn’t say we weren’t motivated enough but the coaches were definitely pushing us to play better the second half,” junior wide receiver Zach Christie said. “Being up by 14 was less than we expected.”

The Mavs continued the pressure on the Warriors in the third quarter, recovering a fumble and scoring two more touchdowns to improve their lead to 28-0. In the final two quarters, the Warriors fought back scoring a touchdown at the end of both quarters, yet their efforts weren’t enough, with the Mavs shutting them down and taking home a win. 

“We [we]re kinda just figuring out our team as a whole,” Christie said. “It’s coming together pretty well.”

Coming off the win against the rival Warriors, the team looks to their homecoming game opponent, the 3-0 rival Round Rock Dragons.

“If the players are not locked in or if we go into a game expecting to lose, it definitely affects us,” Wheatley said. “Tomorrow is a big game and we’re going to have to come through.”