As one of the county’s smallest schools, Maxwell has struggled with numbers in order to field an 11-man varsity football team, but the tide seems to be turning this year as the Panthers have had their biggest turnout in quite some time and as a result have been able to reinstitute their JV program as well.
It’s precisely what head coach Lane Davis had in mind when he took over the program three years ago and assembled an all-star cast to help him coordinate the team.
And while the Panthers may still have yet to reach their full potential, the outlook is positive for the 2022 season given their familiarity with the offense and current crop of talent, as Davis explained.
“One of our strengths this season should be Coach Wilson’s spread offense,” Davis said. “ We are running it now for the third year and we have very capable athletes.”
Leading the charge at the quarterback position will third year starter senior Dillon Dry.
Big and strong, Dry hopes to build upon last year where Maxwell finished 6-5 overall and in third place in a tough Cascade Valley League, saying that the group has developed “chemistry having been together since kindergarten” and that the program has developed a “winning culture.”
At running back the Panthers will look to what Davis described as “a formidable duo” in seniors Berto Lara, an All-CVL selection last year, and Ruben Velazquez.
Maxwell has depth at the receiver where Lara will get some reps; as will fellow senior Angel Iniguez along with juniors Rudi Gonzalez, Robert Waite and Christian Herrera.
Anchoring the line is senior and another All-CVL pick Cale Kuska, who has impressed Davis with his continued development, and who will be joined by sophomore Diego Ambriz and junior Isaac Iniguez.
While the Panthers do have some size, their relative inexperience in the trenches could present challenges at times this season.
Defensively, Kuska, Isaac Iniguez, and Richard Ramirez will serve as the core of the Panther front while Dry and Velazquez will headline the linebacker corps.
There is a solid group in the secondary as well with Lara, Gonzalez, and Waite leading the way.
While the Panthers did not keep any statistics last season, they were at times plagued by untimely turnovers.
Maxwell yielded an average 24.2 points per game last season, yet that number increased to 36.6 in its five losses, and thus is something it will work to improve upon this year.
Expect Maxwell to face tough competition from the likes of CVL foes Los Molinos, Modoc, and newcomer Redding Christian, but should it wish to change the balance of power at the top, it will have to get through reigning league and Division 7-AA state champion Fall River, a perennial power in the Northern Section.
Still, one thing the Panthers have never been short on is heart, and they take immense pride in being one of the smallest schools in the North State to field an 11-man team.
So, rest assured that when the Friday night lights come on, Maxwell will give it everything it has from the opening whistle to the final horn. ■