Arlington Martin enters football playoffs after perfect regular season

The high school football playoffs are officially here. Teams from across the state will put their seasons on the line in hopes of a state title.

It can be a tense time, unless you're the Arlington Martin Warriors, who go in as confident as ever.

"I feel like we're all family," Arlington Martin quarterback Chase Devoll said. "We all love this sport, and we would all die for each other on this field."

The Warriors also finished a perfect 10-0, marking the first undefeated regular season in school history.

"It's unbelievable," Martin defensive lineman Alijah Jackson said. "The work we put in... it's most definitely what we deserve. Everything that's happened in the last two years, man, it's a dream come true."

But it was that late-September win over Aledo that truly put the Warriors on the map, as they ended the Bearcats' 136-game district winning streak.

"It felt amazing knowing that we were doubted," Jackson said. "We were down halftime and then we came back, brought everything together and just played ball."

Keep in mind: Arlington Martin was 7-13 two years ago, and 11 starters returned from last season. 

So, what changed? 

The buy-in. Players say the culture at Martin is different now. As a result, they're playing the kind of football they've always believed they were capable of.

"The culture we decided to create is 'The Black Team,'" Devoll said. "We decided to create that in January. It's a bunch of young men... unified young men who are dangerous, want to play football and are good people."

"Back in January we had to decide we're either going to do this or not," Martin head coach Chad Rives said. "They've done a good job of players and coaches buying in. I watched them since they were little in 7th grade. They didn't win. 8th grade, they didn't win, they didn't win as freshman. For them to be able to have this success has been very rewarding."

Arlington Martin will start their quest for the 6A Division 1 state title taking on Byron Nelson.  

The road is going to be long, and the next game is not assured. But if the Warriors have proven anything, it's that you never count them out.

"You can't rest on being 10-0 and district," Rives said. "At the end of the day, nobody cares. We have a target on our back. When you have success, you have a target, so we welcome that."

"I got to give it my all because this is going to be my last ride," Jackson said. "I don't get any do-overs. I got to go all in not only for myself, but for my brothers as well."