Varsity football will play Dripping Springs for the first round of playoffs at Dripping Springs homefield, Tiger Field on Friday, Nov. 15. The team made state playoffs for the second year in a row after 20 years of not qualifying. Last year the Mavs made it to the second round beating Bowie before they were knocked out by Cibolo Steele the following week.
The district season ended on 5-3 after having starting quarterback Jadon Sultz out due to a hand injury, the Mavs were ready despite this setback. Junior wide receiver Jarell Gary was ready to step up into the role as quarterback for three district games until Sultz returned.
“Anytime a piece of the puzzle is missing it’s tough but it’s nice when you’re able to get that piece back because it allows everyone to operate on all cylinders,” quarterback coach Brad Croak said. “I think it allows us to put everything together, and everyone will come together Friday night to allow us to beat Dripping.”
Senior defensive end Ian Sendelbach sees how this team is turning around this season with senior leaders from last year leaving and new leaders stepping up. Senior linebacker Javeon Vick believes Roberto Reyes, Joshua Williams and Kash Rocha have all helped the mavs accomplish their goals this season.
“Having senior leaders that are able to step up and hold people accountable really helped us to get this far this season,” Sendelbach said. “It’s been great to be part of a team like this because I feel like it’ll leave a legacy that this team accomplished something and sets the precedent that we’re good.”
With players stepping up and filling the roles of leadership this program has changed a lot in the past 20 years and this is seen not only from players that are on the field every Friday night, but McNeil alumni running back coach Justin Ward.
“Our story from my class is that we were the closest team to almost make the playoffs, because we ended on a three way tie and we ended up losing on a coin flip,” Ward said. “That happened my junior year. My senior year was definitely when we wanted to put it all together. I got hurt that season and I ended up not playing but we still almost made the playoffs. It sucked to leave with that disappointment and after that McNeil just had some bad droughts and we felt like there wasn’t that much hope for the program.”
Ward realized this all turned around when Athletic Coordinator and head football coach Scott Hermes joined the program as head coach in 2020. Coach Hermes really helped a shift for culture change and support for not only the kids but also the staff by coming from successful programs.
“I don’t think we were as organized or as supported when I was here before Hermes and I ended up walking into a good situation,” Ward said. “The senior class that ended up making the playoffs this past season, I don’t think people realize that that was coach Hermes’ first senior class. Their freshman year they were 0-10. It was a COVID year and they didn’t win a single game. So to go from not winning a football game your first year to completely changing the program around that’s completely on them.”
Ward saw how this program made a complete 360 first hand compared to his experience being here.
“The main difference I see now is that kids at McNeil actually believe that they can win and actually think that they’re good,” Ward said. “In the past they would just accept that they weren’t good enough or that Round Rock and other schools were always gonna be better than them.”
Even though this team now has the confidence and the support they need to succeed there are still many other factors that contribute to their success.
“One of our mottos is ‘ETW’ – Expect to Win,” Hermes said. “By working hard in the offseason, by practicing well, and of course, by having talent, we know that we aren’t going to face any opponent we can’t compete with and defeat.”
Junior safety Preston Stone believes that everyone at the end of the game hopes that their team is going to be the one celebrating, but this program is more than just the end of a season record.
“Our athletes are talented, hard-working, and extremely coachable,” Hermes said. “They understand that they are part of a program, and the program isn’t necessarily about wins and losses, the program is about taking freshmen boys and turning them into men that graduate high school with honors and become men of honor. We consistently preach our four hallmarks – discipline, effort, toughness and honor. As long as we are in line with our hallmarks, the scoreboard takes care of itself.”
Hermes said that he believes in “focusing on the things we can control” like action, words and thoughts and that the standard of expectation for his team is constantly raised through continued success.
“The ultimate goal is always a state championship, but there are a lot of goals along the way,” Hermes said. “We’ve already accomplished several including making the playoffs and having a 100% passing rate at the 6 and 9 week grading periods. Next, win a gold ball, then practice over thanksgiving….there are a lot of goals left for us to accomplish.”
