The wait begins

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director
Football may be months away, but new coach Bennett says his Mustangs have handled the news well and the race is on to get better.
 
On the first day after learning his new team would be playing during a new time, new Mullen football head coach Jeremy Bennett said he listened.

And the switch from starting practice as early as on Monday (Aug. 10) to Feb. 26 went over about as well as it could.

“It did,” Bennett said on Wednesday evening while meeting with parents and conducting OTAs (Organized Team Activities) on campus. “You know what – I think these kids were better prepared for the news than the coaching staff. We’re learned a lot from these kids every day. They just rolled with the punches and said, ‘We’ve got six months to get bigger, faster, stronger’.

“We just need to stop talking as adults and listen.”

Sweeping changes to the 2020-21 school year included moving the football season to something resembling the old USFL and current XFL (the season will run from March to May), but the opportunity to play in the face of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) was the bottom line for Mustangs. They saw their girls basketball team, the defending champion in Class 4A, reach a championship game in March that was never played as well as seven spring sports that failed to happen.

“I mean it’s a little discouraging to wait, just because it’s so far away now,” junior defensive back-wide receiver Rocco DePizzol said. “Six months, seven months is a long time to wait. I play basketball and will be in track, too, so it’s back-to- back-to-back. It’s a little overwhelming.”

DePizzol referred to the B, C, and D seasons that will begin after the Christmas and New Year’s break and run into late June. All will be unprecedented in state annals.

However, he said, “it’s better than nothing. We all want to play.”

Senior defensive back-running back Zaide Mitchell concurred, even if he was confused a bit about the new layout. And he wasn’t alone among others initially concerned about crossover seasons. At first, he didn’t realize he would be able to jump from football to track and field, but he’ll be doing so.

“I’m happy we’re actually going to be able to play,” Mitchell said. “Finally. I’m really excited about that.”

The Mustangs, like others, also will be able to mature more through visits to the weight room, particularly with only four sports happening and a two-month idle period for November and December.

“It will be great for things like lifting weights,” DePizzol said. “But it also will be hard to stay focused on that goal.”

Said Mitchell: “I’ll still be doing my work. Now that the season has been pushed back, it gives me more time (to prepare).”

Bennett also appreciated the irony.

“We weren’t even supposed to be out here this week,” he said. “This was (going to be) a dead week because we were going to start (preseason) practice on Monday.”

But don’t look for many dead weeks for the Mustangs. OTAs have been approved as long as there
is no competition and Bennett said he and his guys will be doing them “until they tell me we can’t.”
 
Back