NORFOLK, VA (WTKR) - Even eight months removed from the game, Maury football players vividly recall the final play of the 2021 Virginia High School League Class 5 state championship game against Stone Bridge.
"I remember seeing the quarterback roll out and then he bombed it," senior lineman Isaiah Whitehurst said.
"It was off-schedule play, and I couldn't figure out what happened," running back and linebacker Nathaniel Knox said. "I was shocked when it happened because I thought that playing football, it would never happen to a team I'm on."
The 37-yard touchdown pass, the final play of the game, took just five seconds.
"It hurt, it hurt bad," Knox said.
For Maury head coach Dyrri McCain, this was not the first time his teams had faced hardship in a state tournament game. In 2018, the Commodores were soundly beaten by Highland Springs, 71-28.
"We came back and took that as fuel and won it," McCain said. "this team gets to do the exact same thing. "They dealt with some adversity last year and they get a chance to bounce back from that."
Going into 2022 fall camp, McCain and his staff are preaching one motto to his team about rebounding from the pain they felt at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
"We finish this time," he said. "We've reached that stage where now we understand that we're supposed to reach December 10th, 11th, 12th. I don't run from it, I love it."
"Different mentality. The work ethic, you can tell it's changing, it's evolving," Whitehurst said. "We're ready to go."
The Commodores kick off the season with New Bern, a team from North Carolina, traveling to Norfolk on September 9. It's an early chance at redemption, with New Bern being the only other team to beat Maury a season ago.
"We are very focused," Knox said. "It's a hit or miss year, and we plan on hitting this year."
Maury knows all eyes will be on it, not only to make a third state title game in four years, but to respond to heartbreak.
It's pressure they say is privilege.
"You can't just tuck your tail," Whitehurst said. "If you want it, you got to go get it."
