TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) - When it comes to high school football in Leon County, Maclay was never one of the programs you talked about.
"You know we're a private school. We're not that big, we haven't been good in the past," said junior quarterback Brecht Heuchan.
"They always question, who is Maclay?" added Eljin Rhymes, a senior. "We don't know anybody from there. Who's that?"
They're talking now. The Marauders are 6-0 on the season, their best start in school history, but just don't throw around those stats at practice.
"I take great pride in where we've come and where we are now," said Lance Ramer, who's in his third season at the helm of the Marauder program. "I think if you ask anybody what's our record right now, they will all tell you 0-0."
"Week after week, every time it's Monday, last week's gone," agreed Heuchan. "It's just completely reset."
6-0 or 0-0, any way you slice it, the Marauders are focused, and they are having a whole lot of fun changing the culture of the program.
"It's a process. This just didn't happen overnight," said Ramer. When he took over at Maclay in the summer of 2016, they'd just finished a 2-9 season. "These kids have worked their butts off on and off the field to allow ourselves the opportunity, but to watch it happen, is most rewarding."
"it's a definitely a big change from freshman year to senior year," said Rhymes. "I know the key to success is to have a great chemistry with your teammates and coaches."
They're hoping that chemistry stays brewing for a lot longer.
"We want it to be fun. It should be fun, but they're learning the hard work pays off on Friday nights when you've done all the preparation," said Ramer.
"We sort of expected this you know? We've been building for this for so long, since Coach Ramer came the culture's completely changed, there's respect all around the community now," added Heuchan. "For us, there's nowhere else we'd rather be. To see all the hard work come to fruition, it's awesome."
It's awesome to be talked about for all the right reasons.
