For Manvel, the time for greatness is now
One last chance for gifted seniors to lead charge past Katy to title
Kirk Martin knew his 2015 seniors at Manvel were special a long time ago.
That’s why the Mavericks’ football coach loaded his team’s non-district schedule. Manvel opens Friday against Westfield, a state semifinalist last season, for the second straight year before continuing its series with perennial power North Shore, which has 10 playoff wins and a state quarterfinal appearance since 2010.
And that’s why Martin tried to do the same before this group ever got to Manvel.
“We knew when they were in junior high, it was a real special bunch,” Martin said of Manvel’s current main feeders in neighboring Manvel Junior High and Nolan Ryan Junior High, which sits in the booming Shadow Creek Ranch development. “They blew people out. I mean, it wasn’t even close.
“I wanted us to go find some stiffer competition in junior high because I just didn’t think they were getting pushed. And then they got to high school and most of them played really, really early.” Loaded with talent
The résumé is impressive. But for a group that first made its collective footprint as sophomores, the Mavericks have one final chance to win that elusive state championship and solidify themselves as a bona fide powerhouse not only in Houston and Texas, but across the nation.
If they don’t — their only losses the last two years have been to seven-time champion Katy — the Mavericks won’t need to hang their heads. Manvel is 26-2 since 2013 and hasn’t lost a district game in four years. A school that made its varsity debut in 2007 is already a state power.
But there may never be a better chance than now.
Despite consecutive runs to the state quarterfinals and a finals appearance in 2011, Manvel may field its most talented team this fall. Nine seniors already are verbally committed to Football Bowl Subdivision schools, much of that group coming together in the spring to win the Class 6A state track and field title.
That includes quarterback D’Eriq King (TCU), a two-time district MVP; wide receiver Reggie Hemphill-Mapps (Texas), a four-year letterman; offensive linemen Austin Myers (TCU) and Mackenzie Nworah (Missouri), and defensive end Hasaun Glasgow (UH).
It also includes Kyle Trask, Manvel’s 6-6, 211-pound backup quarterback who verbally committed to Florida in July. As a sophomore, King beat out another quarterback who eventually transferred, but Trask stayed and does play.
The final tally will reach double digits come national signing day. Deontay Anderson is one of the nation’s top safeties and has LSU, Mississippi, Texas, Texas A&M and Southern California as his finalists.
Then there are the juniors led by four-star defensive back Derrick Tucker and sophomores (wideout Jalen Preston has offers in football and basketball).
“This is special,” said senior running back D’Vaughn Pennamon, who is verbally committed to Mississippi. “You don’t really see this many people that could potentially play at the college level and maybe even the pro level. You don’t see this every day.” Same hurdle remains
The Mavericks have been humbled. The 2012 team lost a two-touchdown lead in the final minutes against Cypress Ranch in the region semifinals. Instead of facing Katy the next week, Manvel watched the Tigers beat Cy Ranch 70-21 on the way to their seventh state championship.
The two met in the 2013 quarterfinals, but the physical Tigers manhandled Manvel 56-14.
In last year’s rematch, Katy won by four touchdowns.
“We have a lot of work to do, and we can’t talk about being the best team in the state until we can be the best team in Houston,” Martin said. “We’re not it yet. Katy’s got that crown, and they’ve had it for a long time.”
The two won’t see each other until the playoffs. Katy graduated standout running back Rodney Anderson, now at Oklahoma, but the Tigers — like Manvel — return a solid core that has experience and motivation after losing in the state finals in back-toback seasons.
Manvel got a taste, holding off a talented Port Arthur Memorial for the track title. In the summer, the Mavericks reached the state 7-on-7 tournament championship game.
Now, it comes down to this season. The pressure is on.
That’s exactly how the Mavericks want it.
“Our expectations are sky high and if we don’t win the whole thing, then we feel like we failed,” Martin said. “We failed last year. We failed the year before and we failed the year before.
“We’ve gotten close, but we haven’t won the big show yet. We have the talent to win it all, we have the coaching to win it all, we have the facilities to win it all and there’s no reason why we can’t. We just have to go out and do it now.”