'I love playing with these guys'

ARLINGTON – On Wednesday, near the end of Arlington's football practice, the Red Devils looked ready to play.That's not a surprise. The Red Devils were a little more than 48 hours from their Region 26 second-round playoff game at Patrick Henry.But more than that, the players appeared to be enjoying themselves.They were enjoying the work, and enjoying each other."I love playing with these guys," said senior tight end/linebacker Luke Metzger. "I've been playing with them my whole life. I hope we can play another week."Maybe that feeling helps explain how Arlington has gotten this far. Despite some tough losses and key injuries, the Red Devils are 7-4, with a game tonight against the 9-2 Patriots.Arlington ended the regular season with a 30-0 loss at Lucas, and went into the Division VII playoffs as the No. 13 seed. For its first-round game, it had to travel to No. 4 Antwerp, a team that came in with a 9-1 record.It was a daunting task. But the Red Devils were undeterred."I feel like Week 10, we kind of took it personal," said senior wide receiver defensive back Max Jolliff. "It was a rough week for us, so we were ready, and we wanted to bounce back. We didn't want to end with a game like that.""Everyone was ready," said senior running back/linebacker Caden Russell. "Everyone was so excited to play."It looked like it.The Red Devils scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and toppled the Archers, 27-20.Maybe it was a surprise to some people, but perhaps, it shouldn't have been. The Red Devils have been resilient all year.Arlington started the season 1-2, then won three straight. After that, it suffered a 49-21 loss at McComb where one of its top players, running back Ayden Cavinee, was injured (he missed the rest of the regular season).But the Red Devils answered that setback by winning its next two contests by a combined score of 42-6."Never look at what's behind you. Always look forward," said senior lineman Mason Cavinee, Ayden's older brother. "We always talk about, coach talks about it all the time: 'Never look in the rear-view mirror. Always look at what's in front of you.'"It's an attitude that Arlington's program has had for a while. Coach Josh McGrain credits the seniors for making it that way."I really wish I could say it's something I established, or something like that, but this has been kind of a tradition around here for a long, long time," McGrain said. "It's always the seniors' group. We expect our seniors to play their best ball their senior year."Throughout the course of the season, there's always going to be ups and downs," he said. "You're always gonna have things that you're dealing with, in some seasons maybe more than others. This year, we've had our things we've had to adjust with...I think that's just kind of the complexity of what football is. It's about making adjustments and just moving on."The seniors appear to have taken those adjustments in stride."Just having the next-man-up mentality," said senior lineman Wyatt Berry. "We've had a couple guys out, but we always have guys ready to go."Coach preaches it all the time, we've got that next-play mentality," he said. "No matter what happens in the last game, we've got to keep moving forward, because we can't change what happened in the past."Now, Arlington will face another tough test, against Patrick Henry. The seniors know that every time they step on the field now, it could be for the last time as a high school player."I think it adds maybe a little bit of urgency to the moment a little bit," McGrain said. Our kids know what's at stake, we know at this particular point in the year, the cream starts rising to the top."(Patrick Henry has) such a great program," McGrain said. "Our kids understand what the challenge is at hand, and I think with a great week of preparation, I think our kids will be up for the challenge."Mason Cavinee said this is where the Red Devils want to be."It definitely means a lot. Winning playoff games is what every high school player wants and dreams of," he said. "It'll be a good game; be a big game."But it's something Arlington's players are used to.