NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Hitting the field in December is nothing new for Maury.
The Commodores plan on playing in the state title game each year to the point where they start talking about the chill of state championship Saturday during those summer sun-soaked workouts in the offseason.
"It has to continue to be a reminder so we remember why we're doing these certain things or why we're doing this or why we're doing that," Maury head coach Dyrri McCain said. "It eliminates the comfortability."
"We've been talking about it all year," added sophomore quarterback Domo Everette. "Since we're here, we've got to know it's the moment and we've got to be ready for that moment."
Part of preparing this Maury team for the moment included a season-opening setback. The Commodores fell to Cardinal Gibbons out of Raleigh, North Carolina, to kick off the campaign, ending their 30-game winning streak. Ask McCain, and he'll tell you that may have aided the teams charge towards a championship.
"It showed us that we're not invincible," Everette pointed out. "We're coming off two state championships and it just shows that we're not invincible and anything can happen."
"All these guys have known is winning, winning, winning," McCain said. "A lot of them hadn't lost a high school game, so it was needed. I'm glad it was the start. We had something to move forward with to know that this could happen to us."
The head coach is right on the money when it comes to the winning part as he's built one of the commonwealth's most dominant programs. Even though the squad saw many key contributors to its 2023 and 2024 triumphs depart, many on the roster have been part of title celebrations before and are using that experience in their increased roles this time around, hoping to claim a crown of their own.
"It's so valuable," McCain said of the experience. "We don't have to worry about the guys being nervous in the crowd or it being too cold or too many bells, too much loud noise."
One final hurdle is standing in the way and it's a program the Commodores have plenty of history with, particularly in the postseason. Highland Springs will contest Maury for the Class 5 state crown, a rematch of the 2022 championship game that saw the Springers victorious. It will mark the fifth time since 2018 the two programs will meet, with three of those meetings coming in the state playoffs, and the two-time defending champs have plenty of respect for the opponent across the field.
"I don't care if they have five stars, don't have five stars or whatever the case may be," McCain said of Highland Springs, noting he doesn't buy any talk that it's a down year for that program. "They're a well-coached program that knows how to win and they do it at a high level, so that has to count for something."
Maury is making its fifth straight appearance in the state title game and sixth overall, finding itself on the doorstep of a three-peat. With that comes the talk of a dynasty and a group of players looking to put their stamp on an already-established legacy hopes to get the program to that milestone.
"We know this is what we've worked for all season," Everette said.
"I don't think anybody was necessarily expecting us to be at game 15," added McCain. "They probably expected us to make a playoff run, but they didn't expect us to be at game 15. We're here now and we're trying to finish the deal on Saturday."
Maury and Highland Springs clash for the Class 5 state championship Saturday at 5 p.m. at James Madison University.
