Front row, from left: Talon Ebeling, Austin Newcombe, Michael McCorkell, Brycen Kettner, Cedric Johnson, Colby Kuehl, Maddex Faber, Pierce Rohman. Second row, fron left: Ian Matejka, Ron Demand, Kayden Glidden, Logan Waldee, Matt Johnson, Lixon Forsberg, Hank Olson. Third row, from left: Tanner Anderson, Brock Jagodzinske, Kane Wohlhuter, Liam Pytleski, Tyler Pankow, Ian Obernolte. Fourth row, from left: Manager Leo Heller, Colsan Anderson, Gavin Shoen, Jackson Wilmes, Caiden Loken, Kaiden Lange, Preston Cepress. Fifth row from left: Bryce Scholl, DJ Taylor, Ben Coulter, Cooper Roben, Maddox Schultze, Kade Fennern. Back row, from left: Coach Nate Klima, Coach Carter Wille, Coach Adam Schorn, Coach Adam Williamson, Coach Dusty Faber, Coach Tom Elliott Not pictured - Huxley Clow, Kaleb Kennedy

SHERBURN – The 2024 season was filled with ups and downs for Martin County West High School football coach Tom Elliot.

The Mavericks finished last fall going 4-5, dropping four of their last five games, and ultimately fell to Sleepy Eye United by one point in the Section 3A playoffs.

Whether it was injuries to skill position players Berent Kosbab and Cameron Meye or losing three games by one possession, Elliot’s team and coaching staff faced a season of challenges from start to finish.

“A couple of my more explosive players were out for a couple of weeks, so that kind of derailed us,” Elliot said. “From then on, we lost a couple of really close ball games that could have gone our way, but didn’t. But, all-in-all, we fought through a lot of adversity.”

Now, in 2025, Elliot has a new task ahead of him before kicking off the fall season: the replacement of several key contributors on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Leaving from last year’s team is a group of 16 seniors who filled a majority of roles for the Mavericks.

“There are a lot of open spots,” Elliot said. “We graduated four of the five starting offensive linemen and pretty much every skill position except quarterback. That’s not to say the guys behind them were any less talented, but that’s how things go when you have a good senior group.”

This causes many new faces to step up and fill the shoes of previous players. Many of the new faces fans will see this fall have gotten plenty of experience at junior varsity, but just need the minutes and experience at the next level to continue developing.

While the transition is tough on paper, Elliot is confident in the abilities of many of his young underclassmen.

“It’s going to be kind of a baptism under fire for a lot of these kids that just haven’t gotten a lot of varsity level minutes, but they will learn fast,” Elliot said. “This is a good group and they will put their best foot forward.”

Luckily for Elliot, the team returns a handful of experienced variety players from last year’s roster.

Starting quarterback Maddex Faber is aiming to take a bigger leap after taking major control of the offensive mantle in 2024. Pierce Roman returns with experience in the defensive backfield while bringing his talents to the running back position. Finally, Hank Olson comes back to anchor and guide a completely new offensive line.

These new faces, however, don’t steer Elliot from playing the style of football his teams are known for. Ultimately, this roster is expected to still play Maverick football.

Elliot still wants his offensive unit to dominate the clock. Keeping the ball out of the other team’s hands, fans should expect a clear and concise goal to run the ball and dominate the line of scrimmage.

“Year in and year out, we try to control the clock and keep the ball out of the other team’s hands,” Elliot said. “The explosive plays will come; we just can’t force it. If we can establish some form of a ground game, take some of that pressure off Maddex [Faber] and prevent him from doing more than he has to. I think that’s going to help us.”

The Mavericks aim to play a similar style on the opposite side of the ball, that is, establish dominance with their defensive line. Elliot is a firm believer in the success teams find when controlling this aspect of the game.

“Defensively, controlling the line of scrimmage is paramount in any level of football,” Elliot said. “If we can control things up front and hopefully be able to take care of things on the back end, all those things are going to be huge for us.”

Elliot hasn’t seen this many underclassmen forced to play during his coaching tenure, with this year’s team having a senior class of six individuals. But even with the youth, the confidence in their abilities is there from the entire coaching staff.

“It’s a tough group of kids,” Elliot said. “It’s one of those things where we have heard a lot of things. After losing the senior class we did, ‘Well, what are you going to do here, what are you going to do there?’ For them to be resilient and go out to create their own identity is going to be really huge for this group.”

MCW starts its season this Friday with an away game against Windom Area High School. Kickoff is set to start at 7 p.m.