Mavericks Push Harder After Title Win

Dan McManus did not feel a sense of relief after the defensive tackle helped lead Eastern Tech to the school's first Class 2A state title in football last fall.

It only motivated him more.

Eastern Tech is in prime position to repeat as champions this year as the Mavericks close out the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday at Patuxent in a non-league game.

The Mavericks enter the week 8-1 and are in first place in the Class 2A North region. The top four teams in each region advance to the postseason, which culminates Dec. 2-4 at M&T Bank Stadium.

"When you get that feeling of playing in M&T Bank Stadium, you want to do it again," said McManus, who has 57 tackles and nine sacks this season. "When you play for Eastern Tech, the goal is always to win the state title."

Reaching that goal took several years for Eastern Tech. The Mavericks lost in the Class 2A title game in 2007 and 2008 before defeating Queen Anne's 16-8 last year.  The team is also 83-14 in eight seasons under coach Marc Mesaros.

Not bad for a program that doesn't even have a home football field. Eastern Tech plays its home games at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex.

Mesaros, a Pittsburgh native who started coaching Pee Wee football while in college, said the keys to his team's success includes having several quality youth programs near the school and a hard-working coaching staff.

"Many of the players we get come here with the fundamentals so we can start right away teaching our system," Mesaros said. "We teach our JV kids the same way we teach our varsity guys. That way, when they come up it's not too much of a shock of what is expected of them."

Taking that approach has been essential for Eastern Tech, which graduated 22 players from last year's team. This came after the Mavericks won the state title despite replacing 20 players from its 2008 state finalist team.

This year, Eastern Tech has outscored its opposition, 324-95 and has won seven straight since a 17-14 setback against Hereford on Sept. 10. These wins include a 38-0 shutout against Chesapeake, a 57-12 rout of rival Kenwood and a 36-0 Homecoming win last week against Patapsco.

As usual, the Mavericks do most of their damage on the ground. 

Six players have rushed for at least 200 yards this season including junior tailback Kenyon Crawford (550 yards, 6 touchdowns), junior wingback Sayvon Norman (462 yards, 7 touchdowns) and senior fullback Josh Cannella (407 yards, 6 touchdowns).

Defensively, the Mavericks are led by McManus, defensive tackle Brandon Jones (7 sacks) and Canella, who has three interceptions at linebacker.  Eastern Tech has posted two shutouts and held four opponents to less than 10 points.

"We constantly have our eye on the prize," said senior quarterback Brad Hager, who has completed 33-of-71 passes for 483 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. "Coach Mesaros always has us focused on the game ahead and making sure we understand we can't take anything for granted."