HEWITT, Texas — After winning just three games in the past two years, the Midway High School football program was searching for new life in 2023.
Little did the Panthers know, an 0-4 start was just the beginning to overcoming adversity.
Before every game, fans can hear the Panther's chant "Who's got your back? I got your back!" Four words the Midway Panthers have lived by all season.
"If we're going to do this, it's gonna take all coaches. It's gonna take all players," Interim head coach Esrom Martinez, said. "We're gonna have to come together to make this work."
What started as a disappointing season with four straight losses, quickly took a turn in more ways than one.
"I just wanted to see the team go through the happiness of making it through the playoffs and have a chance to go through all those things," Jace White, senior defensive lineman, said. "We have multiple players who played my sophomore year, and Midway has never been like that. In my freshman year, we won district. So like we knew our class was gonna be the one to put it back on top."
But, no one said the road to a district title would be easy, and it may even come with a head coaching change.
"First, it was difficult because Shane Anderson is one of my better friends but at the same time he knows that we have to get the job done," Martinez said. "And, you know, putting me in this position knowing I would get the job done."
After previous head coach Shane Anderson resigned from his position mid way through the season, assistant Esrom Martinez had a job to fill and a team to lead.
"To me, it's stability. They're able to see that there's some guys on staff that have been here a while and love them and care for them," Martinez said. "So, they could trust in us that we're gonna do the right thing. And they just bought into it and bought into us and just started playing really, really hard. To me, it's the stability part of it. You know, guys that have been around here that they can really trust."
Martinez was no stranger to the Panthers, having served on the staff for three years. He knows the coaching staff, knows the players and worked to keep his team locked in.
"Of course, that first week it was crazy. Everybody was talking about him in school, but it's just like we have a full season to play. I mean, honestly, I didn't care too much about it," White said. "I had the guys in the room with me and I'm focused on those guys. I'm focused on the guys that I see every day in here busting their tail going to work, and those are the guys that it paid out for."
After four straight district wins and a Weiss upset, the district champion Panthers are now hungry for more.
"At the end of the day, Midway can't beat Midway," Martinez said. "That's what we're always telling them. No matter who we play, Midway can't beat Midway."
The Panthers now turn their eyes to Waxahachie as they host the Indians to open bi-district play on Friday, hoping to keep this win train rolling.
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