MONROE — It came straight from the mouth of new Monroe High School football coach Mark Mueller.
“Hornet Country is buzzing.”
Mueller, who was hired in the offseason, will lead Monroe into its Week 1 contest at Goshen on Aug. 23 equipped with an appetite for success.
“The transition has been awesome. The administration, the school, the staff, the players, the parents — they’ve been awesome,” Mueller said. “We’ve been able to put together a really good coaching staff. That’s what I’m super excited about.
“We’re taking it one day at a time right now. The weight room this offseason was awesome. The kids are buying in to everything we’re doing, and we’re going to see it transition to the football field.”
Mueller had a three-year stint at Fenwick where he went 15-15 as head coach. Mueller takes over for Bob Mullins, who led the Hornets to a 23-29 overall record before stepping away after five seasons. The Hornets went 2-8 in 2023.
“I think it’s baby steps right now,” Mueller said. “We’re just trying to work hard every day — just teach them how to practice, teach them how to lift in the weight room. Doing the small things to where they’re going to carry over to when we come into the season. Then the expectations inside the season are going to be to win the (Southwestern Buckeye League).”
Karson Marcum saw some unexpected time at quarterback following the unfortunate season-ending injury to Ryan Miles at the start of 2023. Marcum only threw the ball 52 times, but he rushed for 550 yards and six scores on 90 carries.
“We had a lot of success my freshman year and my sophomore year. Last year went downhill, but we’ve got a new coaching staff, new team this year,” said Marcum, a senior. “It means a lot. Every game, seeing everyone who is up in the stands and playing for the community — it’s going to be different.
“We’re working hard at getting better — one percent better every day. We had a rough injury start last year, but we’re going to do way better than what we did last year. Everyone is more determined.”
Monroe’s offense was at the bottom of the SWBL last year, but Mueller said that won’t happen again.
“I think you’re going to see a bunch of hungry kids coming out here to show that last year was a little bit of a fluke when it comes to all the injuries that they had,” Mueller said. “I think you’re going to see a little bit of change of offensive style, obviously, coming from the triple to the spread offense. Hopefully, you’re just going see a lot more energy coming out of the kids.
“It’s the one thing that has attracted me here is the strong tradition,” Mueller added. “They’ve had some very good seasons. They’ve had some very good teams. It’s a very prideful community. For me, it’s been different coming from a Catholic school to a school that has middle school guys and elementary.
“It’s a city pride kind of thing. I’m finding out that it’s more pride than what you may thought it was. And so, I think they’re going to be hungry on Friday nights for us to put a good football team out there.”
Marcum said while the team experienced a tough uphill battle last season, the Hornets were able to power through. He noted that adversity won’t be an excuse in 2024.
“We definitely have some tough teams in our conference,” Marcum said. “I feel like it’s very good competition for us, and it teaches us to go through some adversity and let us learn how to handle adversity. I think that’s a big part of when we are successful, even though we faced a lot last year. The schedule is going to teach adversity to all of us.
“It really made me step up knowing that we definitely had a lot of injuries, and I feel like I’m at a point now where I’m ready to lead the team,” Marcum added. “I’m ready to be a leader. I’m confident that I can.”
Myles Terry, a senior who played on both the offensive and defensive lines last season, is back and also ready to provide a leadership role.
“Ever since we got the new coaching staff, it’s been great,” Terry said. “Everybody’s working harder, motivating each other, holding each other accountable. This is a whole different team. You’re going to see effort, no one’s giving up. Everyone is dialed in ready to play.”
Monroe graduated its top two tacklers from last season in Caden Vance (102) and Kyler Miller (42). Terry recorded 30 total tackles, which is the most from a returning starter on defense.
“We’ve got to finish every play, run to the football,” Terry said. “No taking plays off, so we can get through this year to the playoffs and win a couple games.”
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“We hold high expectations because we’ve worked so hard this offseason to get to where we need to be,” Terry said. “If you can’t fulfill that, it’s the next guy filling in for you.”
“You’ll see a whole different team,” Marcum said. “There’s going to be people flying around. Everyone’s going to go 100 percent every play. There’s going to be no giving up this year. You’re going to see the hardest working team, hardest playing team you’re going to see on the field.”
