SMYRNA — Mike Judy never said it would be easy.
An inexperienced roster combined with a grueling schedule isn’t a good combination for winning football games.
And, sure enough, Judy’s Smyrna High squad finds itself just 1-3 a month into the season.
But like with any coach, the goal is to have his squad playing its best by the end of the season, not the beginning.
It is about the process.
“Our whole coaching philosophy is the games will take care of themselves when you take care of practice and preparation,” said Judy, “as long as they’re approaching the week-to-week operations the right way.”
It certainly won’t get any easier on Friday when the Eagles go to rival Middletown (3-1) for a 7 p.m. Harvest Bowl matchup. The Cavaliers have won all five of the regular-season meetings in the series since 2017 — not counting Middletown’s forfeit in 2021.
Smyrna is 3-2 against the Cavs in the state tournament since 2016.
“Middletown is really good,” said Judy. “They’ve got a lot of talent. They’re going to be playing with some swagger, feeling good about themselves.
“Playing them is a tough test for any team, whether you’re experienced or not.”
Smyrna’s three losses have come against teams that were a combined 13-1 coming into the week.
A week ago, the Eagles scored the game’s first two touchdowns before falling to undefeated Appoquinimink, 21-12.
Quarterback Drew Marks threw a pair of scoring passes in the contest, including a 77-yarder to receiver Phoenix Henriquez on a screen pass.
“They’re getting better every week,” said Judy. “We’re just chipping away. We’re not young any more — we’re a couple games into the season.
“They’re starting to raise the bar a little bit and starting to play more snaps like veterans. They’re coming along well.”
Like every other team in the division, Smyrna still has its entire Class 3A District II schedule in front of it. It starts with the Eagles’ Homecoming game against Caesar Rodney next Friday night.
Smyrna hasn’t forgotten that it made the DIAA Class 3A state tournament with a 4-6 record last season. It then fell to Salesianum on an incredibly close call on a last-second touchdown.
“You’re six inches or less away from a totally different trajectory,” said Judy. “Who knows what that team last year would have done had they pulled that one off? They might not have gotten beaten by anybody.
“That’s kind of what the goal is. It’s the cumulative effect of all our work over time. The games are just like the pop quiz.”
Since 2015, the Eagles have made the state tourney in nine out of 10 seasons while capturing four state titles. Judy knows his team’s fate hasn’t been decided yet.
“Being an especially young team, it’s caused us to take more lumps than we normally would,” said Judy. “But if they’re learning how to win the week of practice and not leaving anything up to chance then we’re heading in the right direction.”
EXTRA POINTS
•Among the schools holding Homecoming games tonight are Cape Henlopen , Dover and Milford . Lake Forest ’s is on Saturday.
• Senior Malik Bell has run for 100 yards in all four games this season for Sussex Central , with a total of 708 yards and nine touchdowns on 74 carries. He’s averaging 220.5 all-purpose yards per game.
•Central (4-0) hosts Appoquinimink (4-0) on Friday in a showdown of unbeaten Class 3A teams. A year ago, the Jaguars edged the Golden Knights, 31-30, after rallying for 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
•With Caesar Rodney facing Hodgson on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Caravel, it might be worth pointing out that — before this season — the Riders’ last three wins were in day games, including two on Saturdays.
• There are five unbeaten teams left in the state: Sussex Central, Appoquinimink, Caravel, Tatnall and Tower Hill. There are seven winless squads.
• With QB Nate Price throwing for 276 yards in First State Military’ s 34-19 loss to Polytech last week, the Bulldogs had some receivers with big numbers, too. Senior Kasson Bey had 120 yards on five catches — including a 72-yarder — while sophomore Damier Bryan added 88 yards on five receptions. Both had one TD.
• Indian River (42.5) and Sussex Tech (42.3) are the only teams in the state averaging over 40 points per game.
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