They’re nothing more than three little letters.
Strung together, however, they spell out Southeast’s mission: NMN.
“No Monday night,” said coach Paul Maechtle.
No one likes Mondays, particularly Maechtle and his football team, who want to be far away from a football field when next Monday rolls around.
Monday is for district tiebreakers, and the Seminoles have been through enough district tiebreakers to know that if they never see one again, it will be too soon.
They won the district title via a tiebreaker in 2006.
Then they missed out on the playoffs via a tiebreaker in ’07.
Then they won a district title via another tiebreaker in ’08.
Three years. Three Monday nights.
Consequently, three little letters: NMN.
Southeast can alleviate any doubt tonight by beating Bayshore and clinching the Class 3A-District 10 title outright.
But if Southeast loses, and Braden River defeats Engelwood Lemon Bay?
Well, we got ourselves a tiebreaker. And that means the Noles, Bruins and Pirates would meet at 7 p.m. Monday night, and the three teams would battle it out for two playoff spots.
District tiebreakers are nearly as enjoyable as a herniated disc. You play one team for a quarter, and if you win, you play another team for one quarter.
It’s unforgiving football where 12 bad minutes can spoil 10 good weeks. That’s why Maechtle and his Noles, 5-3 overall and 3-0 in district play, want no part of it.
“You agonize over what you can do,” Maechtle said, “and what is going to be your best choice of plays against a certain team.”
Tonight, the Seminioles have their destiny in their hands, a reward for beating district foes Braden River, Booker and Lemon Bay.
“We’ve said for the last two weeks, if you run the table, you win the district,” Maechtle said. “And you have to run the table — when you’re only playing four district games, you don’t have any wiggle room.”
Southeast’s forte during this odd run has been playing good football late. Winning games in November patched over the mistakes of September and October and got them into district tiebreakers to begin with. There is something to be said for that brand of resiliency.
There is no need to rebound this year. The Seminoles have been flawless in district play, winning the games they needed to put themselves in this position.
Now all they have to do is win.
No Monday night?
Tonight, that’s all up to Southeast.
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