As Cole Allen weaved in and out of green John Cooper jerseys, chants of “he’s a freshman” rained down from the student section. 

In his first three games on varsity, Allen has totaled 106 rushing yards and 172 receiving with six touchdowns, two coming on punt returns. 

After Allen put up three touchdowns and 96 all-purpose yards in the Mavs’ 34-33 win over Fort Bend Christian Academy on Sept. 10, he was named Co-Texas Private School Player of the Week by TX Private School Football, along with Bryce Fucik, the quarterback for Strake Jesuit. 

“Coach Veltri always puts me in the best position to succeed, so I don’t feel much pressure to succeed,” Allen said. 

Allen’s first opportunity to show off his return skills came on John Cooper’s third punt of the game. 

“The first two punts I hadn’t been able to catch cleanly, but I recognized that I was going to be able to catch this one and was ready,” Allen said.

According to Allen, key blocks made by tight ends Dax Garza and Blake Masterson created a hole in the Eagle defense that he was able to exploit for the score.

“I could hear the crowd so loudly, but at the same time, I couldn’t hear anything,” Allen said. “It was so exciting. The atmosphere at high school games is so much more electric than it was last year [in middle school].”

In the team’s second game, the Mavs shut out Greenhill, 42-0. Allen added two touchdowns, one receiving and the other on punt return, this time for 67 yards. Allen credits the off-season preparations for making a difference on Friday nights. 

“We’ve been working really hard,” Allen said “We had over 60 people working on hot summer days. It’s paying off.” 

After the Mavs secured two conference victories and a non-SPC win against a favored Eagles team, VYPE ranked them the No. 3 Houston private school football team, just ahead of Second Baptist Academy and St. Thomas and just behind top-ranked Kinkaid. 

Wyatt Childers, the only other freshman playing on varsity, credits the team’s success not only to talent and hard work but also to the team’s bond. 

“Everyone is very close,” Childers said. “We have dinner together; we’re always together. We work together really well because we all love and trust each other. We’re like brothers.” 

According to Allen, the most competitive games coming up are against Episcopal (Oct. 8), Episcopal School of Dallas (Oct. 22) and the annual rivalry game against Kinkaid (Oct. 29).

“Our mantra this year is ‘be special,’” Allen said. “A lot of past Maverick teams have said, ‘This is the year we’ll beat Kinkaid,’ so we’re looking to be different and to be special.” 

The Mavs’ next game is against The Village School on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. on Skip Lee Field.