WS Chronicle

Photo by Timothy Ramsey

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

“Take it one game at a time” and “We want to go 1-0 every week” are normal cliche’s that many coaches tell their players year after year.  For Mt. Tabor, they not only went 1-0 every week, they did so in impressive fashion in most cases.

The Spartans finished the season with a perfect 9-0 record.  Earlier this season, head coach Mike Lovelace said he felt this team was special and had the potential to win all of their games if his team bought in to the coaching and played all out.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling and these kids have worked their rear ends off,” Lovelace said.  “They’ve earned this and have come a long way since day one.”

Mt. Tabor kicked off the season with a hard fought victory over Reagan by the score of 21-7.  They proceeded to blow out their next five opponents by very large margins. None of their opponents during that stretch scored more than 12 points while the Spartans scored at least 34 points in every contest.

The Spartans were blessed to have a multitude of big play athletes that can play multiple positions.  Jaquan Albright who lined up at wide receiver, running back and quarterback made dynamic plays all season long.

He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time or made that last man miss to free him for the long touchdown.

Zyquez McMillan was also a bright spot for the Spartans.  He seemed to make all the big catches most of the season and was the perfect compliment to Albright. McMillan was very dangerous in the open field rarely being taken down by one defender.

Quarterback Andrew Muse was the perfect signal caller for his team.  He made clutch throws in many of their games and was not scared to have the ball in his hands when a play needed to be made. Following their rematch against Reagan, he said his team expects to win every game because of the way his team prepares during the week.

“Throughout the season I just told the guys to stay together as a unit,” Muse said. “We had our plays down in practice and we rep and we rep and we rep and I just wanted us to stay as a unit. At Mt. Tabor we have expectations and we play to win.”

The clash between the Spartans and Reynolds was hyped to be a great matchup between two undefeated teams. Unfortunately, the game was out of reach after the first quarter.  Mt. Tabor went on to win by the score of 49-0.

The following week the Spartans had their toughest test of the season as they faced off against another undefeated team, this time it was the Titans of West Forsyth. The game was a back and forth battle between the two teams.  West Forsyth looked to have the game in hand but fumbled and the ball was recovered by a Spartan defender who ran it all the way back for the winning score as time expired.

To have an undefeated season, you need some balls to bounce your way figuratively and literally and that’s exactly what the Spartans got.

They ended the season with two more blowout games against Parkland and Davie County to secure the undefeated season.

This year was a magical one for the Spartans and coach Lovelace, one they will remember for a lifetime.