- November 1, 2024
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Nick Kubiet
No team in the area has proven more people wrong — including myself — in the last two years than the Matanzas Pirates.
After coach Robert Ripley's inaugural season, I didn't expect much from Matanzas. Come to think of it, when I predicted Matanzas would finish 5-5 for the 2015 season, I was being nice. Although they had lost a few close games out of seven that prior season, nothing about Matanzas expressed it would become a top team in the area.
The Pirates went into last year undecided on the most important position on the field — the quarterback. But that was when all things fell into place for them. Senior quarterback Mackenzy Wagner took over the position, and he was the perfect fit for Ripley's play style.
Other than Wagner, there has been a constant from everyone that has led to such transformation a team that never enjoyed a winning season now has two back-to-back and is headed to the playoffs. Ripley credits Pirate Nation's commitment.
"We have commitment from our kids, our coaches, our administration and our fans," he said. "They have willed this (process) through their hard work and commitment to every piece of our program. Most, if not all, of them (players) are committed to putting the team first to reach a common goal."
I saw that commitment from the fans a year ago. Until last season, Flagler Palm Coast blew out Matanzas every time they played. Despite the one-sided rivalry, last year's game broke the rivalry's attendance record. Over in Daytona, very few Seabreeze fans show up to watch the Sandcrabs play Mainland, expecting thtem to lose by a hefty margin.
Matanzas was the game opponents chose to play for homecoming, anticipating an easy win. Now, the Pirates have become the circled game on other teams' calendars, because they have to prepare a few more hours during the week. They've struggled to win any district games throughout their history but have won six in two years.
I've never seen such a transformation in any sports program over a this short amount of time, but I'm glad it's happened, because it has made the crosstown rivalry that much more enjoyable, and it's always fun to cover winning teams.
