No. 1 Mill Valley off to strong start to title defense
SHAWNEE, Kan. (BVM) — Mill Valley is considered to be the best high school football team in Kansas.
But that doesn’t mean much to the Jaguars right now.
“What matters is who’s playing their best football in late November,” Mill Valley head coach Joel Applebee said. “I think our kids understand that.”
They should understand that as well anyone considering they’re the defending Class 5A state champs. Mill Valley is off to a 2-1 start to its title defense after losing to out-of-state Bentonville (Ark.) 35-28 in Week 3. Despite the loss to the No. 2-ranked team in Arkansas, the Jaguars maintain the No. 1 spot among all Kansas high school teams in the MaxPreps rankings and they’re also rated No. 1 in 5A by Kpreps.com.
Mill Valley proved itself worthy of No. 1 after a dominant first two weeks of the season in which the Jaguars outscored their opponents 115-35, including an eye-opening 45-14 Week 1 victory over defending Class 6A state champion Derby, which entered the season ranked No. 1 overall in the state.
“It was a great start for us,” Applebee said. “Considering the summer that we had and with the restrictions and all of the protocols, which are there for good reason, they could’ve been a distraction and I don’t think our kids let it be a distraction at all. I truly believe our kids every day when they step on the field, they’re just excited to be there because they know it could be taken away at any time.”
And if they needed a reminder, they got one this past weekend when their Week 4 showdown with unbeaten Class 6A No. 1 Lawrence (3-0) was called off after a positive COVID-19 test forced the Chesty Lions into quarantine for two weeks. The Jaguars were able to schedule a Friday matchup with 2-0 Gardner-Edgerton in their place.
“Obviously we would’ve loved to play Lawrence, but with the situation we’re in, we’re just happy to be playing, honestly,” Applebee said. “Week to week, you just never know.”
Much is unknown in an unprecedented season such as this one, so the Jaguars’ long-held philosophy of self-improvement, a factor they have some control over, comes in handy.
“We feel like that if we prepare well and we focus on the things that we can get better with, then Friday nights will take care of themselves,” Applebee said. “That’s been a clear focus for this group and it’s been a philosophy within our program for years now.”
The seniors have been bought into that philosophy for several seasons and their leadership plays a big part in the success that Mill Valley has had so far and could continue to have deep into the postseason. Chief among those leaders is senior quarterback Cooper Marsh, who threw for over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns while also rushing for over 900 yards and 10 more TDs while leading the Jaguars to the state championship as a junior. The dual-threat QB has thrown for 491 yards and 5 TDs and rushed for another 297 yards and 6 TDs through three games this season.
Applebee calls Cooper a “great kid and a great leader” and a highly-competitive player who will do whatever it takes for his team to win.
“He’s definitely got the ‘it’ factor where he understands how to compete every single rep,” Applebee said. “He always has the great mindset of if he makes a mistake, it’s always the next play. That’s a great attribute to have, especially at quarterback. He also has a very calming effect with our offensive group because he does prepare so well. The fact that this group understands and believes that he’s going to get the job done is huge.”
With 13 starters returning, Applebee knew he’d have a strong squad that would be able to compete at a high level on both sides of the ball similar to the way the Jaguars did a year ago. They’ve also carried over their physical brand of football which helped them earn the championship last season and should continue to bode well for them going forward.
“Really from Day One, they’ve understood how they need to be a very physical football team,” Applebee said. “I think that’s one thing that this group has really hung its hat on is we want to play a very physical brand of football and get after it.”
The Jaguars will continue to get after it every week, knowing that their No. 1 ranking right now means little and that not much is a given this season, but hoping that they’ll have a chance to make it last well into November and end the year on top again.
