ROANOKE, Va. – The Patrick Henry Patriots had a 5-5 record in 2018, including a playoff game appearance where they fell to Mountain View.
Making the postseason hasn't been an issue for seven years straight, but advancing has been a struggle.
According to head coach Alan Fiddler, the maturity and experience this team has may be the secret to a great season.
"The biggest thing we did was get a year older. We were playing a bunch of sophomores last year. They worked hard in the offseason," Fiddler said. "They've gotten bigger, faster, stronger. Now they've got 11 games of experience. We've got a really good senior group leading us, so we're excited about it. We think we've done the things we need to do in the offseason."
Receiver Trey Divers agreed, "A lot of teams in Roanoke, where there's discipline, you get your wins. Like Salem, they're disciplined, they win a lot of games, go to state championships. So that's what we need to get to that level. First game, going to be disciplined, do the best we can and play hard."