NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It's the goal of every high school football team during the preseason: be practicing on Thanksgiving Day. Maury has taken this goal and made it custom.
"It's been a tradition of ours, something we wanted to start when I first got here," said Commodores' head coach Dyrri McCain. "It's our short-term goal to be here and practice on this day, enjoy each other after practice also."
"We're trying to get the job done. We're trying to finish on December 9, so Thanksgiving doesn't bother us too much," added senior receiver Joshua Powell. "It's kind of tradition now, so we expect to be practicing on Thanksgiving."
Maury is one of nine Hampton Roads teams still alive for a state championship. The Commodores host Warwick at Powhatan Field Friday night. This marks the sixth consecutive season that McCain's squad has reached at least this point in the season.
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After putting in the work on the field, the Commodores tackle the dinner table and some of their holiday favorites.
"If I have macaroni and cheese, that's got to be on my plate," smiled McCain. "Please don't bring candied yams around me. Don't bring sweet potato pie around me. My coaches know that."
"Mac and cheese, candied yams," junior quarterback Au'Tori Newkirk said of his favorite Thanksgiving cuisine. "I really eat all sides."
"Some macaroni and cheese and some turkey," said Powell.
The day presents a chance to share time together both on and off the gridiron. Coaches and players got an opportunity to reflect on some of the things for which they are thankful.
"My family and my football family as well," Newkirk said.
"I'm thankful for my family," added Powell. "I'm thankful for my support system, really, because without them I really wouldn't be here."
"I'm thankful for the Commodore Nation, I'm thankful for my kids," McCain noted. "They go through some stuff. It's tough to be here. I have a lot I'm thankful for."
Friday night the Commodores have a chance to add to the list. A win over Warwick would get them to the state semifinals for the sixth consecutive season and put them one step closer to their goal set last year of finishing the season on top.
"It would be great," McCain said. "It's something that we set out for. I'd be happy. I'm pretty sure the kids would be happy to practice again and to get to play in those games that you play on Saturdays when they really count, that's what we really want to get to."
"We're trying to finish on December 9," pointed out Powell. "That's the goal at hand and that's what we expect to do."
Maury and Warwick kick off at 7:00 PM Friday night.
