The Galax Maroon Tide welcomes Central Lunenburg Saturday afternoon in a 2 p.m. kick. Mark Dixon's team has shown quite an ability to be explosive this season, scoring 43 or more points 10 times this season. The 13-0 Tide leads all of Group A in the state with 589 total points.
It's uncharted territory for the Maroon Tide, making their first appearance in the State Semifinals on Saturday against Central Lunenburg.
Mark Dixon, Galax Head Coach, "It's the furthest we've ever been, so our community's been amazing. They're so excited. The vibe around here for about the last 10 weeks has been so exciting."
Even though the football team has never been this far in the post-season, they have some championship caliber athletes who were took home the state title in basketball this past season, who are bringing their experience to the gridiron.
"We have probably 5 or 6 that played on the state basketball championship team and it's made a big difference," Galax coach Mark Dixon said. "They just have an expectation that they can achieve great things and they're comfortable in the big games. I think the fans have expected this group of kids because of their success in basketball to make a deep run in the playoffs and they've just been phenomenal this year."
And for Coach Dixon, he'll be looking to those guys to lead the way.
"This is only my second year ever coaching, so this is all brand new for me too," Dixon said. "It's been exciting. I get nervous. I don't want to let the kids down because I know how good they are and how bad they want it. I know how much they've achieved."
As for the Maroon Tide's opponent, they're going to have their work cut-out for themselves against a very fast Chargers team.
"Just a bunch of great athletes who can really run," Dixon said. "I think they'll be the fastest team we've seen all year and so unfortunately there's no body to key on. All of them can beat us on any play. For us, the margin of error has really decreased this week. Through the year, I've thought we've been able to chase people down. There's no chasing this week. If we're not there, then they'll score."
But the undefeated Galax team is up for the challenge.
"I've never seen them back down. I've seen them when I haven't done a good job and gotten them prepared where they've struggled, but I've never seen them shy away from a moment. They love it. They want to be there. They've been there and that's the strength of them. They've all been there," Dixon said.
And if they make it past this round, could they possibly bring home the first Galax football state title?
"I sure hope so," Dixon said. "I don't know but I sure hope so. I'd love it for this community and I'd love it for these kids. They're special kids. I'd give anything to see those kids enjoy the success at that level."
It's uncharted territory for the Maroon Tide, making their first appearance in the State Semifinals on Saturday against Central Lunenburg.
Mark Dixon, Galax Head Coach, "It's the furthest we've ever been, so our community's been amazing. They're so excited. The vibe around here for about the last 10 weeks has been so exciting."
Even though the football team has never been this far in the post-season, they have some championship caliber athletes who were took home the state title in basketball this past season, who are bringing their experience to the gridiron.
"We have probably 5 or 6 that played on the state basketball championship team and it's made a big difference," Galax coach Mark Dixon said. "They just have an expectation that they can achieve great things and they're comfortable in the big games. I think the fans have expected this group of kids because of their success in basketball to make a deep run in the playoffs and they've just been phenomenal this year."
And for Coach Dixon, he'll be looking to those guys to lead the way.
"This is only my second year ever coaching, so this is all brand new for me too," Dixon said. "It's been exciting. I get nervous. I don't want to let the kids down because I know how good they are and how bad they want it. I know how much they've achieved."
As for the Maroon Tide's opponent, they're going to have their work cut-out for themselves against a very fast Chargers team.
"Just a bunch of great athletes who can really run," Dixon said. "I think they'll be the fastest team we've seen all year and so unfortunately there's no body to key on. All of them can beat us on any play. For us, the margin of error has really decreased this week. Through the year, I've thought we've been able to chase people down. There's no chasing this week. If we're not there, then they'll score."
But the undefeated Galax team is up for the challenge.
"I've never seen them back down. I've seen them when I haven't done a good job and gotten them prepared where they've struggled, but I've never seen them shy away from a moment. They love it. They want to be there. They've been there and that's the strength of them. They've all been there," Dixon said.
And if they make it past this round, could they possibly bring home the first Galax football state title?
"I sure hope so," Dixon said. "I don't know but I sure hope so. I'd love it for this community and I'd love it for these kids. They're special kids. I'd give anything to see those kids enjoy the success at that level."
