Midlothian Football begins their 2023 fall season against the Monacan Chiefs this Thursday. The Trojans are aiming for another win at home against Monacan after beating the Chiefs on Homecoming Night last year 28-6. On the other hand, Monacan is coming into this contest searching for their first victory against the Trojans since 2019.
The Trojans are a year removed from having their most successful regular season in school history. However, they would finish the season with a 9-2 record in 2022 after blowing a 25-7 lead in the fourth quarter against the Glen Allen Jaguars; losing 29-25 in the first round of the playoffs. Midlothian has now entered the stage of reconstruction after losing 22 seniors from last year’s roster. Coach Phillip Gross spoke out about how he was preparing his unit heading into the new season.
“The guys found ways to improve individually during off-season training and the camaraderie is continuing to grow as we get closer to opening night against the Chiefs,” Coach Gross said. “As the new head coach, I have been continuing to push these players in practice and strongly encourage them to push boundaries that they haven’t originally set for themselves”
This’ll be Coach Gross’s first season as the head coach after former coach Matthew Hutchings stepped down on Jan. 6 2023. In his five years, Matthew Hutchings coached Midlothian to a 29-19 record, three playoff appearances, and their first playoff win in school history. Senior Guard Gio Semidey talked about how the rest of the team is adjusting to a new coaching style.
“Coach Gross has a coaching style that isn’t that much different from Coach Hutchings,” Gio Semidey said. “It’ll be somewhat difficult to get a grasp of his gameplan on a week to week basis, but his communicative style is something that this team has worked well will in the past.”
The Chiefs just came off a disappointing season in 2022; a season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Monacan finished 4-6 last year with one of the worst defenses in the area; allowing 28 points per game while not applying any pressure to the quarterback. With ten seniors from last year being subtracted from the roster, Monacan now has to make calculated decisions throughout their rebuilding process.
“Since 2021, what has separated us from Monacan is the fact that they can’t consistently put together possessions on our defense,” Coach Delans said. “This is giving our offense more than enough opportunities to score with great field positions. If we can control the game with front play on Thursday with have great chance to win on opening night.”
