HS Football Playoffs: James Monroe heads to Miner Mountain Friday

No. 7-seed Mavericks back in the playoffs for the 5th-straight season

James Monroe head football coach John Mustain returned to the sidelines for the 2021 season in Lindside. Since that time, the Mavericks have made the postseason journey every year.

This season is no exception.

Opening up with a thrilling win over Williamstown, James Monroe navigated a tough schedule to finish 7-3 and enter the playoffs as the No. 9-seed.

The destination for round one is Miner Mountain where No. 8-seed Mingo Central waits their arrival.

"I hope it will continue to be commonplace," Mustain said about making the playoffs. "It is still a big deal to me just to get in. It means a lot."

James Monroe entered the season as a strong postseason contender, but the road was far from smooth.

"We have gone through some injuries," Mustain said. "I don't like to talk about it because you have teams that have been in the same boat as us. You never know when it will happen. Probably one of the worst years we have had for that."

Ryan Mann has led the Mavericks with both his feet and his arm, setting a new school record for passing yards in a season.

Mann has completed 122 passes for 1,880 yards and 24 touchdowns. On the ground, he has ran for 389 yards and six more scores.

"Ryan is a good kid and it's a pleasure to see him doing well," Mustain said. "I felt coming into the season that he had the potential to do pretty well. He has done well for us the last couple of years on both sides of the ball. He plays a major role on the defensive side too."

One area hit hard by injuries has been the offensive line, forcing some unforeseen adjustments.

"We have actually converted a couple of skill players to linemen," Mustain said. "They are both sophomores and have done really well."

One of the toughest injuries occurred when senior Cade Dillon went down in the first preseason game.

Dillon, however, turned a negative into a huge positive to be an inspiration to his teammates.

"If you told me when he had that injury that he would make it back this year, I would have said your were crazy," Mustain said. "He came in (against Tug Valley) and did really well for us on the offensive line. He played a little defensive line for us as well."

"We all feel this way, but assistant coach Kelly Mann addressed it with the team," Mustain went on to say. "Cade should be seen as an inspiration. A lot of kids or adults might have given up after that since he is a senior. He worked hard to get back and he got right into it."

The success on offense for the Mavericks been driven by a strong core of receivers including Kadyn Hines, who routinely makes acrobatic cases, along with Jayden Miller, Ben Comer and Andrew Weikle.

Hines leads the team with 31 grabs for 516 yards and seven scores.

Flying under the radar most of the time is junior Bryce Gardinier who has made big play after big play on a weekly basis.

Gardinier has 23 catches for 496 yards and eight touchdowns.

"Kadyn is similar to (former Maverick all-stater) Eli (Allen) and teams focused on Eli," Mustain said. "I feel like all across the board we have a great core of receivers. Brock (Parker) has done a great job running the ball and has gotten in on the receiving as well this year."

Parker has tallied 793 yards on 106 carries with nine end zone visits.

Mingo Central ran off eight straight wins before being derailed by Class AAA No. 9-seed Chapmanville and AA No. 5-seed Doddridge County to end the season.

"Coupled with the fact of getting there, they are strong everywhere," Mustain said about the Miners. "They have a good running back and the quarterback is pretty good. They have a receiver committed to Marshall (Aidan Burke). Coach (David) Jones has done a good job getting that program back on the map. It will be a tough battle."

While the game may change its look and have some different philosophies, for the veteran coach, a chance to win boils down to the basics.

"Probably the same thing you will hear from most coaches, win the battle at the line of scrimmage. If we can do that on both sides of the ball, I think we will be in good shape," Mustain said. "What you ultimately want your kids to do is go out and give their best effort. Do what they are supposed to do and play to the whistle in between the lines. If we can do that, we have a chance."

The winner of Friday's clash will battle either No. 1 Frankfort or No. 16 Williamstown in the quarterfinal round.