Bumblebees’ Britt Mauldin was determined not to let history repeat itself. After back-to-back 3-7 seasons, Mauldin wasn’t about to take Academy’s 0-3 start in his senior season laying down.
“Being a three-year starter, I felt a responsibility for getting us back on track and moving in the right direction,” the team’s starting tight end and part-time linebacker told Empower Texans. “Having that much experience made me one of the natural leaders of this team, and I knew we had to get our act together real fast to save our season.”
Mauldin’s plan started with reminding his teammates of how they had all felt at the end of the last two seasons when he felt they underachieved, then he challenged them to do everything they could not to let things get to that point again.
“I talked with Coach (Paul Williams) first, then I addressed everyone on the team, some of them individually,” he added. “We talked about changing the culture of things, focusing more in practice and treating every play as if it were a real game.”
The change has been evident, with Academy winning their last three games, and with Mauldin doing most of his damage in a season where he’s bagged 16 catches for 311 yards and 6 touchdowns.
“We had high expectations coming into this season and now we’re back on track to achieve them,” Mauldin added. “Our confidence has grown with each victory and we’re feeding off the wins and working harder every week. We’re in a tough district, but right now we’re not fearing anyone.”
