SPRINGFIELD — The Martin County West Mavericks turned heads last Friday after their 16-8 home victory over Sleepy Eye United.

Being unranked and defeating a then No. 5-ranked team will do that, though.

But Springfield Tigers head coach Adam Meyer is well aware of how good Section 3A is and how tough the Mavericks can be. The Tigers, now 5-1 on the year, host the Mavericks at 7 p.m. this Wednesday in a Southwest District, South Subdistrict football game.

The Tigers ended the Mavericks’ season last year with a 21-7 win in the Section 3A Semifinals.

“I know traditionally they’re just a very physical football team,” Meyer said. “They’re also very disciplined both offensively and defensively. On offense I know they’re very OK with taking 3-4 yards per rush and then trying to get a pass over the top from time to time just to keep you on your heels a little bit.

“And then defensively, they want to keep everything in front of them, they’re always really strong up front on that defensive line and linebackers, they flow really well to the football. We’ve played them the last couple years now, both in the regular season and the playoffs, and every game seems to be tight with them no matter the circumstance, so we’re expecting a battle on both sides of the ball and it’ll be a really good test.”

Fast-forward to 2023 and the Mavericks enter the seventh week of the prep football season with a 3-3 record. On paper that record doesn’t stand out much, but the Mavericks are starting to put things together.

After opening the season with three consecutive losses, the last loss being a 39-0 loss against another tough section opponent in Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, MCW has topped Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 12-0, Wabasso 28-6 and most recently SEU.

Mavericks head coach Tom Elliott said the team was without a few key two-way players the first few weeks of the season, however, in Berent Kosbab, Cam Meyer and Kole Hanson.

Not having everyone healthy and ready to go contributed to the early struggles. But once the Mavericks got healthy, they got rolling.

“Ever since we’ve been able to put a couple more pieces into play here, it’s just had a different feel,” he said. “We’ve been able to be a little bit more dynamic and a little bit more multiple in our sets and different things. When you can get one win, and you get two in a row, you just get a little bit more confidence, you get a little bit more swagger.”

And the win over SEU went a long way in the Mavericks realizing they can beat top teams.

“Going into Sleepy Eye, we knew it was going to be a tough task against an undefeated ranked team, but we were able to go in and kind of establish what we wanted to do right from the get-go and force them into doing some things that they didn’t maybe necessarily feel comfortable with,” Elliott said. “But all in all, the kids have really rebounded here later in the mid-part of the season and pushing towards the end.”

In Week 5 of the season, SEU created turnovers and knocked off the Tigers 16-14 in Sleepy Eye. The Tigers had to regroup after that loss and took some valuable lessons away from the game.

“It was a Game 5 for us, it’s a bump in the road on our journey throughout the season,” Meyer said. “Obviously when you play good teams, we know going into those games that they are going to shine a light on your weaknesses and things you’re not doing well at the time. So for us as coaches and as players, it was a good eye-opening experience on things we can improve on. I was really proud of the way our kids handled it and came back the following week to work on those things, and I think we’re taking some positive steps forward from there.”

The Tigers bounced back last Friday with a 52-28 win over St. James Area in Springfield. In the win, Tigers senior quarterback Jakob Nachreiner had his second seven-passing touchdown game of the season.

Knocking off another ranked team like Springfield would be an ideal way for the Mavericks to gain even more confidence and stop a four-game losing skid to Springfield.

The Tigers started the win streak in the 2019 Section 3A finals with a 23-21 win.

“It’s no secret that Springfield’s had our number the last couple of years, even dating back to 2019, that’s kind of where it started there in the section finals a few years ago,” Elliott said. “They’ve all been tight ballgames, they’ve been intense and it’s kind of become a thorn in our side. And to be able to pull one out and be able to make some plays against a squad like Springfield and pull off a victory is going to be a big feather in our kid’s cap and kind of get that monkey of their backs.”

If the Mavericks want to stop that losing skid to Springfield, they’re going to need to minimize mistakes.

“When you get into tough ballgames with Springfield, which has been the case the last couple times, it is just that, which team can make the fewest mistakes, fewer penalties,” Elliott said. “The last time we played them it was the splash plays, they were able to come up with a couple of bigger key plays, key touchdowns that really was the big separator in a lot of our games.

“Whatever we have to do to try and limit all the things that are going to set us back, whether it be penalties, drive-killers, all those things, that can play a big factor, at least it has the last couple times.”

Meyer said that despite MCW’s size and strength at the line, the Tigers have the depth to keep guys fresh.

“They have size up front, both sides, offensively, defensively,” Meyer said of MCW. “We feel a big strength for us right now is that we can rotate kids that play offense, don’t necessarily play a ton of defensive line and vice-versa, so we think that’s good for us, especially as the game goes on, we feel like we can wear some people down.”

Meyer also believes his offense can benefit on a younger MCW defensive backfield.

“They graduated a decent amount of their defensive backfield, so we feel with the returning receivers we have and the skill we have out there, that’s probably something we can look to as a matchup that we like,” Meyer said. “But they’re really consistent with keeping things in front of them and being disciplined on the back end, so we’re going to have to earn everything back there as well.”

RAIN, RAIN, STAY AWAY

As of Monday night, there was a 90% chance of rain on Thursday for Springfield.

While the Tigers have displayed a willingness and ability to throw the ball, Thursday night could see the Tigers being more selective with their throws.

“I think you’ve just got to be more timely with it,” Meyer said. “Knowing when maybe a change of possession or a first down type of thing where you know you can maybe take a shot because you know you’re getting that dry ball in there for the first time.

“And it’ll just be a thing throughout the game where we talk with our center and our quarterback about how they’re handling the football and receivers as well and we’ll see what the elements bring us. Just have to adapt with it. The good news I guess for us is it’s happening on both sides, so everybody’s gotta deal with it.”

KEEP AN EYE ON…

Meyer said the Tigers will have to keep an eye on MCW senior running back Rylan Cutler. Cutler, while not the biggest player on the field at 5-foot-4, 130 pounds, has the ability to make plays on both sides of the ball.

“He plays extremely hard and pursues the ball really well on defense,” Meyer said. “And he takes everything he can get at that running back spot.”

Cutler rushed for 146 yards on 25 carries with one TD in the win over SEU last week.

Meyer also said MCW’s offensive and defensive line will be a strong point overall to watch out for.

Elliott complimented Jakob Nachreiner as someone who is never rattled and always in command, but Elliott said the Tigers are too athletic and talented to key in on one or two playmakers and he’s going to need an all-around effort from his team on Thursday to counter that.

Jakob Nachreiner has 1,784 yards passing to go with 30 TDs and five interceptions on the season. His top target this year is Brayden Sturm, who has 34 receptions for 625 yards and 10 TDs in six games. In four games, Carter Olson is close behind with 32 receptions for 534 yards and eight TDs, while Ashton Toll has 24 catches for 382 yards and seven TDs in six games.

NUMBERS GAME

The Tigers are second in Section 3A in points per game this year with 40.3 ppg and are third in fewest ppg allowed with 16.7. MCW is averaging 11.3 ppg and allowing 18.2 ppg.

INJURY REPORT

Grant Kuehn, a tight end, linebacker and special teams player for the Tigers, will be out this Thursday due to a foot injury. Tigers kicker Kade Nachreiner has been out of action the past two weeks due to a hip injury. Kade Nachreiner could have a chance to play Thursday, but Meyer and is coaching staff are taking things easy with their kicker and not rushing him back.

MCW junior starting quarterback Lucas Larson rolled his ankle in the win over SEU, but Elliott expects Larson to suit up and be ready for Thursday’s game.

SECTION STANDOUTS

Springfield currently holds a 4-1 record in Section 3A, while TMB and SEU are both 3-1 in the section. Adrian-Ellsworth and MCW are both 3-2 in section play. TMB is averaging 44.8 points per game to lead the section, while SEU leads in fewest ppg allowed with 9.7.

Springfield dropped out of the top 10 teams in the Class A prep polls on Monday, while SEU dropped to No. 10.