‘They were ready for it’
Martin County West has one of its best seasons in recent history
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TRIMONT - Martin County West's preseason scrimmage showed head football coach Tom Elliott and his staff that this season's team could be special.
Flashback to July. Elliott and his Mavericks were set to face Sibley East and Atwater Cosmos Grove City in a pair of organized scrimmages. Martin County West had a small senior class leave the year prior. Much of the team's experience was returning. Nonetheless, Elliott and his assistant coaches walked away from the preseason exhibition with a different sense than before.
"We went up to that scrimmage not really knowing how it would all come together," Elliott said. "When we scrimmaged Sibley East and ACGC in a couple of short periods, for the hour and 45 minutes we were there, we were incredibly successful. ...We kind of walked away from that as a coaching staff going, 'Did that feel different? That felt different.'"
Martin County West's section semifinal defeat to No. 3 Cleveland ended its season. The Mavericks’ 8-2 record marked their most successful season since 2022. It was a complete turnaround from the previous year, where Martin County West finished 1-8. The growth and development Elliott's team has shown the past two years has been nothing short of impressive.
"It was a cool feeling because you basically watch them grow up before your eyes," Elliott said. "You see them come in with talent. I mean, we could see that we had talented and athletic kids, but they weren't worn in, so to speak. Last year they got baptized under fire. We played a lot of tough teams and the section was really competitive. This year, they were able to come back and were just ready for it."
Elliott says the foundation for this latest season was laid in 2024. Martin County West concluded the year with a 4-5 record and a loss to Sleepy Eye United in the section playoffs. The season’s end brought significant turnover to the program. Martin County West had just relied heavily on a large senior class to fill a lot of spots on the field. It left next year's Mavericks with only a handful of players who had previously gained varsity experience. The other spots had to be filled with new faces.
That inexperience showed in 2025. The Mavericks' lone win came against Madelia. Every other contest resulted in defeat. But a message from that year's departing class set the tone early for things to come.
"Last year was something nobody wanted. Nobody wanted to see themselves in a position where they are 1-8," Elliott said. "When that season concluded, that senior class, they kind of banded together. We had an end-of-season team meeting; we talked about it, saying that we don't want to do this again. ...They held on to that when we started in July. In August, the tempo and energy level - all those things were different in practice."
Martin County West set a standard in its season opener against Windom Area. The Mavericks won 60-0 while scoring touchdowns in all three phases of the game - offense, defense, and special teams. It was a sign of things to come in the following months.
Elliott's team finished the regular season winning six of its final seven games to clinch the No. 2 seed in Section 2A. The Mavericks won those six games by an average margin of 35 points and recorded five shutouts. Martin County West wasn't just adding to its victory column. The Mavericks were dominating their opponents.
"This year, they were ready for it and knew what to expect," Elliott said. "You could see the confidence. You could see the attitude. You could just see all of those things basically blossom with a lot of these athletes. They hit the ground running because they knew exactly what to expect."
Martin County West ended the year with a 14-6 playoff loss to the Clippers, where the Mavericks were a few plays away from winning and playing for a section championship against No. 1 Mayer Lutheran. But despite the playoff exit, the season was still a success.
Elliott knows his program’s latest showing can have an impact beyond 2026. He hopes future Maverick teams can replicate what this group accomplished after seeing firsthand the hard work it put in during the offseason and throughout the season. The 8-2 campaign could serve as a blueprint for future Martin County West football teams to follow.
"Any time you have a season such as we did, it provides a lot of excitement," Elliott said. "The kids that are coming back next year, they can chase that same feeling that we were able to have so many times this year. The junior high kids watching the older athletes play, it has the potential to jump-start a program, and we're going to do everything we can to try and take advantage of that."