Mavericks Look to Bounce Back Against Byrnes

After last week’s loss to Boiling Springs, Mauldin High football coach Doug Shaw and the rest of the coaching stuff made little secret of their disappointment in the Mavericks' intensity level.

This week, during preparations for tonight’s game against defending AAAA state champ Byrnes, Shaw has made sure there is no shortage of positive energy. “We’ve had a great week of practice and the kids had a lot of enthusiasm for what they were doing,” Shaw said. “We’ve talked a lot about being excited no matter what.”

“The Boiling Springs game is over. You have to have a short-term memory,” Shaw said. “Believing you can win is very important and that’s what we’ve tried to get across this week.”

Trying to get back on track on the road against the Rebels won’t be easy. “They’re excellent at what they do,” Shaw said. “But even though we shot ourselves in the foot last week, we’re solid too.”

Shaw said the Mavericks will try to control the tempo of the game, which will feature the two highest scoring teams in Region II AAAA. The game starts at 7:30 and is Byrnes' homecoming.

Mauldin dropped both games last year to Byrnes, the first of which was a narrow 27-24 decision in the regular season. The second came in the first round of the state playoffs.

If you can’t make it to Duncan, be sure to follow all the action on Twitter via @MauldinPatch.