Back in the 2017 and 2018 seasons — when they were at the height of their powers — the Mustangs ascended to the No. 1 spot in the national high school rankings. In 2024, thanks to a 10-0 start, coach David Wolff’s squad finds itself back on top once again this week.
That 2018 season, however, was the last time the Mustangs won a state championship. Six years between titles isn’t a big deal at many schools but for Houston, it matches the program’s longest gap between titles.
And that’s why everyone involved — from Wolff to the last player on the jayvee team — knows that the team’s current ranking is just a signpost on the road to a more important destination.
“Not really,” said Wolff, when asked if he puts much stock into his team’s position at the top of the MaxPreps rankings. “If we’re having this conversation in December, then it mattered. Having the conversation now really doesn’t ... when we started the season in early August, I would have thought we are a long way away from where we are now.
“This team has done a really good job of meshing early.”
The results have borne that out. Heading into Thursday’s 7 p.m. road match against Bartlett, Houston has scored 40 goals while conceding only three. That includes games against several of Tennessee’s best including Ravenwood and Chattanooga Baylor, last year’s Division 2-AA state champion.
And of course, Bearden.
The Bulldogs have been the state’s reigning heavyweight champions over the last several seasons, winning the last three Class AAA state championships. They also eliminated Houston each year, defeating the Mustangs in the 2021 and 2022 title games and in the quarterfinals last year.
Which made the morning of Aug. 17 all the more satisfying. Playing the Tri-Star Classic in Murfreesboro, Houston handed Bearden a 3-0 defeat. It was the Bulldogs’ first loss in a span of 72 matches (69 victories and three draws).
Talk about meshing early. And talk about confidence boosters.
“We were in that position,” said Wolff. “There were four or five years at the end of the (2010s) where they hadn’t beaten us. So when they won, it was similar to our players now who hadn’t beaten Bearden.
“What it did was show us that we could compete with anyone in the state. Last year (at the state tournament), I felt we overachieved to get into a 2-1 game. Really proud of that team ... but we really had to give the best effort we could. This year, we were very calm and methodical.”
Not to mention excited.
“There was definitely a lot of joy; a lot of happiness,” said senior Ellett Smith. “A lot of emotions; we had lost the last three years to them. But we were prepared and we came into the game knowing that we weren’t going to lose for a fourth year.
“Even the freshmen; they didn’t know what it was like to lose but they busted their butts like everyone else. It meant a lot.”
As co-captain, it’s Smith’s job to make sure her teammates are ready. She does it primarily by example; the Vanderbilt signee was the 2023 Daily Memphian Player of the Year and has set a strong pace again this year, scoring 11 times and assisting on nine others.
“She’s so creative,” said Wolff. “Technically the best soccer player we have. She’s knowledgeable, her vision is great. She’s unselfish and a good leader but she’s more about (leading) on the field and calming people down.”
Houston’s other co-captain is one of the city’s more inspiring stories this fall, senior McKlain Jones. The hub of the Mustangs’ defense, Jones suffered a knee injury against Briarcrest midway through last season that required nine months of rehabilitation.
Amazingly — according to Wolff — she’s come back as even a better player while maintaining her influential role on the field and in the locker room.
“Bearden game (Jones was) by far the best player we had on the field,” Wolff said. “Just absolutely dominated the position. But we’re also getting a lot of leadership from her. It’s real hard to be a leader when you get injured.
“You say ‘hey, I need you around to be a leader’ but it’s hard when you know you’re going to be recovering for nine months. But she’s stronger; she’s mentally tougher.”
Jones concurs and credits her teammates for their help in seeing her through a challenging season.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “It’s how I was injured for nine months and able to come back. Just the confidence ... I definitely gained a lot of positivity from my teammates. Their encouragement and confidence in me.
“They helped me realize my injury was not for me to go down but to go up. Coming back, it’s amazing to be a senior and a captain and to help this team grow. And for next year for them to grow even more.”
That — perhaps more than anything — is the key to Houston’s success. With rare exceptions, the Mustangs are able to maintain a stress-free program because of the standard set by the seniors. Along with Smith and Jones this year’s group also includes talented goalkeeper — and basketball standout — Laila McNamee and emerging attacking player Zerina Markovic.
They learned from those who came before them and before they leave, they’ll pass the baton to players like juniors Hallie McBride and Anna Dunn, freshman Josie Parker and the outstanding sophomore class headed by Scarlett Cowles, Kelly Behan and Kate Wingfield.
The older ones set the example during training and like Wolff said about Smith, calm things down during moments in the match when things get — as he puts it — squirrelly.
There are lighter moments too.
At the end of a recent session, assistant coach Jenna Kemp — herself a former Houston standout who went on to play at Ole Miss — asked Wolff to select his rose, his bloom and his thorn.
Wolff laughed at the exercise but one answer might be.
The rose is something meant to treasure right now. Something, perhaps, like a No. 1 national ranking.
The thorn? Well, there are plenty of potential thorns between Thursday’s match and the state tournament in Chattanooga.
The bloom? That’s something meant to be treasured at some point in the future and for that one, Wolff could have picked his team. As good as it is right now, its potential is limitless.
And he’s looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.
“Last year, we had a lot of people who, as ninth-graders, were really important to the process,” he said. “So they didn’t really have time to acclimate to the system. They had to be pushed really hard. This year, they’re just so much more mature; both from a playing standpoint and a teammate standpoint.
“People always ask me ‘is this your last year... Click here to read full article
ARTICLE SOURCE:
