Perseverance Pays Off For Mauldin Seniors

Mauldin seniors, left to right, Reddick Langston, Peyton Myers, Evan Hruska, Lucas Hagedorn and Austin Cummings

How long has it been since the Mauldin High football team hosted a playoff game? Not only had no one on this year’s team been born yet, first-year defensive coordinator Marlon Alexander had not either.

That all changes Friday night when Mauldin hosts Boiling Springs in the opening round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs. It will be the just the third postseason game ever at Freeman Field and the first since 1999.

“It means the world to me,” Mauldin senior linebacker Evan Hruska said. “I just really appreciate everyone that’s put their time into this program and shown love to each other.”

The Mavs clinched a home playoff spot as the No. 8 seed thanks to a pair of blowout wins to cap the regular season. That left them with an overall record of 5-5. A .500 record may not seem like much to other teams who will be hosting playoff games Friday night, but those five wins for Mauldin are more than it had over the previous three seasons combined. From 2022-24, the Mavs went 4-28.

Having a season successful enough to get to play at least one more game at home has been a long time coming for Mauldin. That’s especially true for seniors like Hruska and quarterback Reddick Langston. Langston has persevered through a lot more than just all those losses.

“It definitely means a lot. I got pulled up (from JV) my sophomore year and we went 0-10. It wasn’t the best. Junior year, I started the first three games, got benched, separated my shoulder and didn’t play the rest of the year. We lost nine games,” Langston said. “Then we just came out with confidence this season. Everybody was together like a true team. Everybody loves each other.”

Mauldin coach Andre Cook said that teamwork has made this season so special. In this day and age of sports, athletes moving on to supposed greener pastures is a phenomenon going on at every level. Cook said he couldn’t be more proud of those seniors who stuck with the program and didn’t quit or leave. Instead, they stayed and helped build it up.

“We’ve got a group of kids who care more about each other than individual accolades. I don’t think that was the case when I got here (two years ago),” Cook said. “I’m just really, really happy for these kids and I really appreciate this coaching staff. They’ve done a tremendous job.”

An early sign that patience and perseverance by Mauldin’s seniors was finally paying off came in the second game of the season. That’s when the Mavs knocked off Friday’s opponent, Boiling Springs, thanks to a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Kamari Cannon that snapped a 14-14 tie. The 21-14 win avenged a 31-12 loss to the Bulldogs last season and a 55-0 loss to them in Cook’s first game as head coach to open the 2023 season.

“We didn’t play a great game against them, but we executed when we needed to on offense, defense and special teams,” said Mauldin’s other senior quarterback, Peyton Myers. “It was great to get that home win, because that led to more support from everyone and we just gained more confidence.”

Mauldin avenged another 2024 loss with another tight win, 21-16, at Fountain Inn the next week. The Mavericks then endured their toughest portion of their schedule as region play started with three consecutive losses.

A beautiful thing about sports is that you have a key turning point in a season, even when the result doesn’t go your way. In a road game at TL Hanna on Sept. 26, the heart and teamwork this Mauldin team plays with was on full display. Hanna went 9-1 this season including a perfect 7-0 run in Region I-5A play to win the region title for the fourth consecutive season. Nobody came closer to spoiling that perfect region record than the Mavs.

On a night in which Mauldin leading rusher Taurus Thomason was out with an injury, the Mavs trailed 21-7 at the half. Given Hanna’s powerful rushing attack, that’s often too big a deficit to overcome for its opponents. Mauldin also had to tried to come back with Langston on the bench in the second half with an injury suffered late in the first half.

Myers came on and threw a pair of touchdowns in the second half. The second of which came with 1:50 left to help tie the game at 21-21. Meanwhile, Alexander’s defense shut out Hanna in the second half including a blocked field goal as time expired to force overtime. After the Yellow Jackets scored first in overtime, the Mavs couldn’t find the end zone as they fell 28-21.

“When he (Langston) went down, I knew I just had to go out there and ball. Before the season my goal was to just play, so Coach Cook told me, ‘this is your chance,’ ” Myers said. “We went out there and had some good play calls and everyone did what they’re supposed to. Towards the end we made some mistakes, but I think it gave a lot of people hope. … It showed people that ‘yeah, we can do this.’ “

Postgame conversations let Cook know just how invested his players are. Mauldin leading receiver Tamari Shepherd caught five passes for 94 yards and both of the second-half touchdowns that night. On the game-tying drive, Mauldin faced a 3rd-and-9 play from its own 21. Myers threw deep over the middle and Shepherd made a diving catch at the Hanna 45. After that catch, Shepherd had to come out of the game about every other play due to cramps. He fought through it to make the touchdown grab, but could no longer go.

“Tamari was crushed after that game. His whole body was locking up so bad he couldn’t play in overtime. When we were done, he was like ‘Coach, it’s my fault we lost.’ You want to see that kind of leadership from your best players” Cook said. “He’s just a ballplayer, man. No matter who’s at quarterback, they trust him and he trusts them. There’s just a trust throughout that group.”

Ever since that game, Langston and Myers have rotated at quarterback and Shepherd has taken some snaps as well on designed running plays. Myers is more of a passer, while Langston has no problem throwing over – or running over – defenders. He’s thrown for 1,158 yards and rushed for 588 and his 7.7 yards per carry average leads the team. The team-first mentality makes the quarterback situation work.

“I’ve grown up with him (Myers) since elementary school. We were on the same flag football team. That’s where he started playing quarterback and I played receiver,” Langston said. “We’ve stayed somewhat close in high school, but gotten even closer this year. It’s just been an amazing season.

“Everybody in the community, the people in school and teachers are so excited. I mean I go to Waffle House almost every Friday and even they’re cheering us on.”

A group of seniors lead a defensive unit that has given up 225 points, Mauldin’s fewest allowed in a season since 2018. Lucas Hagedorn has a team-high 111 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while Evan Hruska has 86 stops and two forced fumbles. Devon Wilson has been a big-time playmaker with 48 tackles, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries and Austin Cummings has 48 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a blocked field goal. Their play and leadership has helped sophomores like Josh Evans (six sacks) and Tyson Smith (four interceptions) have big seasons.

“Our brotherhood is something we preach on 24/7,” Hagedorn said “It’s made us a well-oiled machine. … Coach Alexander has brought a new culture to our team.”

Cummings said playing together since their freshman year on the C-team has been a big part of this year’s success.

“It’s easier to go through hardships when you stick together. … Everybody has bought in and been coachable,” Cummings said. “In past years, everybody wasn’t. They didn’t want to listen. They wanted to do their own thing. Now everybody wants to do what they’ve been taught.”