Maryvale High School, a team under new leadership for the third time in four years,  has started this season slow. 

After losses to Mingus and Chino Valley, the Panthers will travel to Youngker High School on Sept. 23 after a bye week to face the Youngker Roughriders for their third game of the season.

The Panthers are 0-2 versus the Roughriders, losing the last meeting in 2019 by a score of 37-6.

The Roughriders are 0-1 after a loss to Buckeye Union High School 42-7.

Maryvale head coach Byron Traylor speaks of high optimism with his team in the next game against the Roughriders.

“We're gonna be competitive, and those wins will start to come. So I'm optimistic about the direction of our program,” Traylor said. “Our conditioning was lacking. Our fundamentals were lacking in spots. Our discipline wasn't too bad, but when you have all those three aspects together, that's championship football.”

Assistant Allante Shines talked about what improvements he saw in the team after the loss to Chino Valley. 

“I was most impressed with how our team started off the game and went into the game," he said. "They fought and they were intensive instead of like previous weeks. We improved on that." 

A good aspect of Panther football is star sophomore, first-year quarterback Devin Murphy. The sophomore star did a deep evaluation of his play and is looking forward to the next game. 

“I did really good about seeing  the holes to go through, (and) making cuts. I seen the receivers, but I just couldn't make the throw, but definitely a lot of improvements,” said Murphy, who also plays defensive back. “I think we should have won this game. We should have won a lot of games. I think we're gonna, we're gonna improve over this bye week. We're gonna get better.”

Traylor loves Murphy’s mentality and attitude against Chino Valley, a game the Panthers lost 33-6. 

“He's a kid that loves the game. He'll come back every day, every week willing to fight, willing to get better,” Traylor said.

With the program at Maryvale rebuilding after COVID-19 and bringing in a new head coach this offseason, there is a new mantra for Panther football: no sacrifice, no victory. 

Maryvale principal John Doherty talked about his commitment to putting together a team that can win at the highest level after going through some of the toughest challenges. 

“I put all my trust and faith in my athletic director, and my head coaches let them do their work,” said Doherty. 

With eight games left in the season, Panther football is ready to put together a memorable year.